Unconditional Trust
by Mecca24
Summary: Chen is new to the team. The team is tasked with training him until they learn what the military has done to him. They realise they need to earn Chen's trust in order to save him. But how do you teach someone to trust when they don't remember how it feels to trust someone?


**Author's Note: This is longer than my usual stories and it's not because it's better or more detailed, it's just because I couldn't think of an ending so I went on and on and on and... Anyway, it's another origin story and have similar elements to my other story 'Before Earth'. It's not my best but I hope you like it. And of course, Chen is central in this story.**

The military base was secluded, deep in the desert of the hot, red planet. It was where they trained and lived. Most people on their planet could never survive under the heat of three suns but the team that trained out here was the best of the best and they had an ice elemental on their team. They've lived, trained and completed missions together for the past three years. They were a young team but they were good. Extremely good. They were also covert, meaning, only the highest-ranking military officers knew of their existence. Just recently, a new member joined their team; a Scorpion. It wasn't taken well but they were soldiers and always followed orders.

* * *

Xiumin watched the Scorpion sit by himself, away from the team. His name was Chen and aside from the initial introductions, he hasn't said much to them. Xiumin could tell the 'trolls' in their team, didn't quite like the new member. Their leader, Suho, made sure they were civilised with him but otherwise, agreed that Chen didn't click with the team. He wasn't going to allow it to go for much longer. If Chen didn't put in more effort to gel with the team, he would ask the General to transfer him out. Lay and D.O didn't have much of an opinion on the Scorpion. They were never ones to make judgement about anyone without getting to know them first.

Xiumin understood why the Scorpion wasn't liked but something about the younger elemental told him he was a good man. He saw it during training. The others didn't notice but Xiumin saw how Chen always made sure he was behind the two youngest members. He watched them carefully. Once, he saw Chen flinch when Sehun's footing slipped as he climbed up the cliff during their training. Everyone knew Sehun's power would kick in but Chen jolted. Another reason why Chen wasn't liked was because he never stayed in the tent with them. He never ate with them, unless ordered and he never spent any off-time with them.

* * *

One night, Xiumin got up after everyone fell asleep and sneaked outside. Chen was sleeping in his sleeping bag about five metres from their tent. He smiled at how young Chen looked under the glow of the moonlight. He could easily pass for the youngest of member of the team. Xiumin stayed for ten minutes before he got up, about to head back inside, when Chen started tossing in his sleep. Xiumin paused at the soft whisper, "Please." He frowned, slowly stepping towards Chen. "Please, don't tie me up. Please. I didn't mean it."

"Chen?" Xiumin gently placed a hand on Chen's shoulder, "Chen."

Chen's eyes slowly opened, then jumped up, when he found a man kneeling over him. Electricity built in his hands. "Chen, it's okay! It's me!" Xiumin called quickly, stepping back from the Scorpion.

Chen frowned at the ice elemental before realising who it was and pulled his powers back. Xiumin smiled, relieved. "You should be careful around me." Chen whispered to him. Xiumin narrowed his eyes at the cryptic words before his eyes widened at Chen flying through the air and into their wooden dining table.

"Chen!" Xiumin ran up to him.

Chen groaned after he finally got his bearings and realised his was lying on his back on top of splintered pieces of wood, "Ah…"

"Chen, are you okay?" Xiumin checked him for broken bones, feeling Chen jolt when he pressed against his ribs his left side, "That's definitely broken." He turned to see Sehun at the flap of the tent, "What the hell, Sehun!"

"He was…"

"What is going on out here?" The team rushed out of the tent, one by one, ready for an extremely unlikely attack. Suho could tell that Sehun had just used his powers by the way he was standing, "What happened?" Lay pushed past him when he saw Chen lying on top of the broken table.

"I… I thought he was going to attack Xiumin." Sehun explained, realising he may have reacted too quickly.

Suho could see how badly the youngest felt and he wasn't sure if Sehun had reacted wrongly yet. He nodded to Baekhyun and Chanyeol to stay with the boy, while he went over to check on Chen. By then, D.O was also there, seeing if he could help with anything, "How is he?" Suho asked their healer.

Xiumin helped Chen sit up after Lay healed his ribs and cuts, "He's fine." Lay answered, "He had a couple of broken ribs and a cut to the back of his head, but I've healed him. He'll have a headache for a few hours but nothing a night's sleep won't get rid of."

"What happened, Xiumin?" Suho asked the eldest member, "Why did Sehun think Chen was going to attack you?"

"Yeah because Sehun would never use his powers unless he was sure of what he was seeing." It was Baekhyun. Sehun told him what happened.

"Chen was having a nightmare," Xiumin glared at the Baekhyun, as he helped Chen stand, "He wasn't going to attack."

Chen blinked at the two men, glaring at each other, "I'm sorry. I didn't know where I was."

"So, you were going to attack?" Baekhyun accused.

Xiumin and Lay caught Chen as he stumbled back. Xiumin nodded to D.O and Lay to take Chen inside before he stepped up to Baekhyun, "He was having a nightmare. We've all had those kinds of nightmares before. I would know if he was going to attack me, so lay off him!"

* * *

D.O and Lay led Chen into the tent and settled him on the bed he's never used. Lay frowned at how dizzy Chen seemed, "This is weird. I thought I healed him." Lay covered his forehead with his hand, "He still has a concussion." He concentrated harder but felt his energy get pushed back.

Chen turned his head away as he pulled Lay's hand away by the wrist, "Don't bother. My power disrupts yours. You can't heal internal head wounds." Lay frowned, not understanding. Chen felt his eyelids get heavier, "I have a static field around my mind." He drifted off before he could say anymore.

"Static?" Lay was confused, "It explains why I can't heal him but I've never heard of it before, have you?" D.O shook his head.

"It's a rare skill, but I've heard stories of a Scorpion with that power. He died over a decade ago." Suho had just walked in with Xiumin . Xiumin walked straight over to the bed, his attention entirely on the man in the cot.

D.O could see that the eldest members of the team needed to talk. "I'm going to clean up outside." He said, leaving quickly.

Suho gave D.O a thankful smile as he passed, "How is he?" Suho asked Lay.

"Concussed." Lay folded his arms, almost pouting, "I don't like not healing him."

Suho grinned, "He'll be fine. You'll just have to take care of him the old fashion way." His grin faded at Xiumin's angry expression, "Sehun didn't mean it."

"And how about Baekhyun?" Xiumin growled, "I know Chen hasn't been the easiest person to get along with, but he is a part of this team!"

"You know how protective Baekhyun is…"

"Yeah, we all are." Xiumin hissed, "But my protectiveness includes Chen, so tell Baekhyun and the others to back off him!"

"Xiumin." Suho said, exasperated, "It was an honest mistake."

"And if the roles were reversed, and it was Chen who threw Sehun through a table, would we be having the same conversation right now?" Xiumin challenged.

"Xiumin." Lay warned, knowing his brother was walking a fine line.

"Are you saying I'm not being fair?" Suho's expression hardened.

"I'm saying, you should be out there, talking to them and not in here, making excuses for them." Xiumin glared before sitting down next to Chen's bed, "And if you want to write me up for insubordination, then go ahead."

Suho let out a long breath, knowing Xiumin was right. He nodded to Lay, telling him to watch over Chen before leaving the tent.

* * *

Outside, he found D.O and Kai, picking up the pieces of the dining table, determining which pieces could be reused. He looked around, not seeing the other three boys. "They're in the mess tent." D.O told him, "How's Chen?"

"He has a concussion." Suho knew what the next question was going to be, "He has a special ability that's stopping Lay from healing him."

"I wouldn't call that a special ability." Kai scoffed.

"You would if you knew the possibility of what he can do if he was…" Suddenly, Suho understood why Chen was sent here. He needed training. "Ah…why can't they just be straight with us?!"

"What?" D.O and Kai exchanged confused looks.

Suho shook his head at them, "I'll explain later." He knew now, he didn't have a choice. Chen had to stay on the team and a mutual trusted had to be formed between them all. No…not mutual trust…unconditional trust. He sighed, tiredly, "This isn't going to be easy."

* * *

 **The next morning…**

Suho walked into the tent. The team, aside from Xiumin and Lay, had stayed outside for the night. Suho wasn't going to force them to talk. The team always resolved their issues on their own terms. Chen was sitting up, drinking a bowl of broth, D.O had prepared for him, knowing a concussion could cause nausea. D.O was their cook and overall carer. He made sure they were fed and healthy.

Chen concentrated on his bowl of broth. His leader was looking at him and it made him uncomfortable. He wished Xiumin was in here or at least, Lay. Xiumin always had a protective aura surrounding him. It was thick like a warm blanket, keeping him safe. Lay's aura was filled with calm and kindness. He made him feel comfortable. Chen didn't feel anything from the rest of the team. His leader was strong and stern, and at times, his gaze would burn straight through Chen. Chen knew Suho was always watching over the team but Chen didn't think he was included in his team yet. Ever since he was little, he'd always be able to sense the auras surrounding people, but ever since his parents died, he rarely felt an aura like Xiumin's and Lay's. As for the others, their auras were neutral. D.O and Kai's would be slightly gentler while the others were slightly less gentle. There was one aura he sensed in all of them though. _Brotherhood._ It wasn't a feeling they felt towards him but they felt it for each other and it told Chen that even though they didn't trust him, he knew they were good men.

Suho sat down on the metal chair next to Chen's cot, "How are you feeling?"

Chen put down his bowl on the side table and nodded, "Just have a headache."

"Sehun didn't mean it."

Again, Chen nodded, "I know he was only protecting Xiumin."

Suho smiled, "Thank you for understanding."

Chen lowered his head as he fiddled with his blanket, "It was my fault." He whispered so softly, Suho only just heard it.

"You were having a nightmare." Suho frowned, "It wasn't anyone's fault."

Chen looked up and gave him a sad smile. The hopelessness he saw in Chen's eyes almost made him gasp, "Thank you."

Suho sighed. He hadn't handled this situation well. He could feel how the team was divided since Chen joined, and instead of trying to build the bridge to mend the gap, he let it get wider. It was time he was the leader they needed him to be, the leader Chen needed him to be. "Chen. I'm sorry we haven't made you feel welcomed here." Chen's eyes widened at the apology. No one has ever apologised to him. It has always been his fault. "That will change." Chen frowned, confused. His innocent eyes told Suho he had no idea how to respond. It made him sad because the only reason Chen wouldn't know how to respond, is because he'd never had anyone say anything like this before. "I need your help though." Suho continued. Chen's innocent tilt of the head made him smile, "There's a reason why we like to eat and sleep together. That's how we got to know each other. Baekhyun even went as far as to shower with every one of us." Chen eyes widened in horror at that, making Suho laugh, "Yeah, I know. That guy has zero concept of personal space." That got a chuckle from Chen, which made Suho a little more at ease, "I don't expect you to shower with us but it would be nice if you could eat and stay in the tent with us."

Chen's expression changed again. He was worried. Suho realised it wasn't hard to read Chen. As hard as he tried to keep a neutral expression, Chen's eyes expressed so much. "I can eat with you but don't make me sleep inside." It was Suho's turn to be confused, "Sehun wasn't wrong last night. For a moment, I was going to attack Xiumin." Chen turned his eyes away from Suho, ashamed of his lack of control over his powers, "I didn't know it was him."

Suho sighed at the young boy. Something happened to Chen to make him think Suho would turn away from him, "Like I said, it was a nightmare. You didn't hurt Xiumin."

"I have a lot of nightmares." Chen whispered, gripping his blanket tightly in his fist, "Don't make me stay in here." He begged.

Suho's heart broke at the desperate plea. He reached over and placed a warm hand over Chen's, massaging it gently, until he felt Chen loosen his grip, "I'm not forcing you to do anything and I hope that one day, you'll trust us enough to tell us about your nightmares."

Chen felt tears fill his eyes at the gentle words. He wished he could tell him about what he did, but how can he tell them that he's a murderer. That there was something inside him that made him dangerous.

Suho frowned at the way Chen was shaking, "Chen, are you okay?"

Xiumin walked into the tent after washing up and grabbing his breakfast. He didn't want to leave Chen alone for too long and he was still angry at the others for the way they've been treating Chen. He wasn't expecting to see Suho with Chen and Chen, trembling, "What did you do?" Xiumin put his plate down and rushed over to the Scorpion.

Suho shook his head, "I…"

"Chen?" Xiumin sat on the side of Chen's cot and gentle turned the boy towards him. He rubbed his shoulders soothingly, "It's okay."

Chen felt Xiumin's aura again, and closed his eyes at the warmth of it as it wrapped around his shoulders. Without even knowing what he was doing, he leaned over and snaked his arms around Xiumin, letting the ice elemental's warmth envelop him. Xiumin gasped in shock. Chen has never acted like this with them. He turned to Suho, silently asking what happened? Suho smiled sadly. This was the first time Chen showed any form of affection. Something about Xiumin told Chen that he could be trusted. Suho knew if he wanted to help Chen, Xiumin was the way in. "Stay with him, Xiumin." The leader stood and walked out of the tent without another word.

* * *

Suho stood outside the tent, overwhelmed by what he saw and felt inside. He rubbed his face and only then realised that he was crying. This wasn't something he was trained for. He didn't know how to fix someone so broken. He didn't know how to get someone so broken to trust him, to trust all of them. He knew he needed to because Chen's powers relied on his ability to trust them and their ability to trust him. He sighed and headed to his own private tent. He needed time to think.

* * *

Xiumin stayed with Chen against him, until he felt the Scorpion get heavier against him. He smiled. He was like a little boy, falling asleep after a big cry. He gently laid Chen back onto the bed. Chen turned onto his side and curled up. Xiumin combed his fingers through his hair, "I'll protect you, Chen. I promise." Xiumin didn't know what it was about Chen that made him feel this way. He only knew he had to protect the scorpion.

* * *

That night, Chen went back outside to sleep under the stars. Lay checked on him one last time before going back into the tent. Chen's concussion took a lot out of him. He was in a deep sleep when Lay left him.

Xiumin stood at the flap of the tent so he could keep an eye on Chen while the team talked, "Can we make this quick? I don't want to leave him out there on his own."

Sehun bowed his head, guilty, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw him that hard."

Xiumin sighed and turned to him. He couldn't blame Sehun for trying to protect him. "I'm not blaming you, Sehun. I'm sorry I haven't come to talk to you. I know you were only trying to protect me." He gave the youngest a smile, "Thank you." Sehun smiled in relief. He thought his brother was still angry.

"So why are we having this meeting?" Chanyeol asked, getting them straight to the point.

Suho sat on the end of his cot and looked at each of them, "First off, I'm sorry. I haven't been the leader you needed me to be since Chen arrived here."

"What are you talking about? You're the best leader we could have!" Kai denied.

Suho smiled sadly and shook his head, "If I were, I wouldn't have let this situation with Chen get to this point. It's not fair on all of you and it definitely isn't fair to Chen. He needs this team more than I realised."

D.O frowned, "What do you mean?"

"There's a reason why Chen was assigned to this team without a file. The General wanted him to have a blank slate. I don't know why but from what I sensed from our conversation this morning, Chen's past hasn't been good." Suho could still feel the pain in his chest after leaving the tent this morning. "Did he say anything to you, after I left?" He asked Xiumin.

Xiumin shook his head, "He fell asleep. When he woke up, he looked embarrassed. I didn't want to bring it up again."

Suho nodded, "Fair enough." He looked around at the team, "I need everyone to try and get to know him. Make him feel welcomed. Make him feel like he belongs."

"That's easier said than done. He needs to try as well." Baekhyun argued, "It's not like we haven't tried to approach him. He won't talk to us."

"He's different to us, Baekhyun." Xiumin told them him, "I don't think he knows how to make friends but he cares and he's more protective than I am. I've watched him. During training he is always behind Kai and Sehun. It's not because he can't catch up. He stays behind them to watch their backs." Kai frowned as he thought hard about all the training sessions since Chen arrived. He realised Xiumin was right. Chen was always behind him.

"There's also the issue of the shield he has around his mind," Lay spoke up, "It's there because he doesn't trust anyone. I don't even think he knows how to control it."

"It's just there?" Chanyeol asked, wondering what could've happened to the Scorpion for him to have a permanent shield around his mind.

"It's dangerous for him to keep it up. Lay can't heal his head injuries if it stays up." Suho told them the main reason he wants Chen to let it down.

"I've never heard of that kind of power." Chanyeol was in awe of what he was hearing.

"It's a rare power for a Scorpion." Suho told him, "I've only heard of one other soldier with that power. Civilians call him, Beongae." _Lightning._

Baekhyun's eyes narrowed as he remembered a soldier from his past. He was only five at the time. Intruders had entered his home, tied up his family and threatened to kill him if they didn't tell them where they kept their cash. Baekhyun remember how scared and angry he was because their neighbourhood was poor. Even if they robbed the whole street, they wouldn't get enough to feed a family. His parents cried because they had no money. The knife held against his neck nicked him before the intruders dropped to the ground, unconscious. He fell to the ground with a bang. By the time he got over the pain in his arms, he was lifted to his feet. The soldier wiped his tears and smiled at him. "You're a brave boy. I have a son about your age. I think you and he would be good friends." The soldier spoke calmly, even as he sent a lightning bolt into one of the intruders who was waking up. Baekhyun remembered thinking the man was a magician as he created a ball of electricity in his hand. "My son's name is…" The soldier didn't get to tell him because his partner called over to him. He remembered the man's name though; it was Taeyang.

Baekhyun was pulled from his memory by a shove from Chanyeol, "Hey, wake up!"

"What are you thinking, Baekhyun?" Lay asked him.

"What happened to the soldier?" Baekhyun asked, suddenly feeling guilty about the way he'd been treating Chen.

"He died on a mission about 17 years ago." Suho told him, "I've only heard stories of him."

"Is his real name, Taeyang?" Baekhyun asked, quietly. Suho nodded slowly, curious. "He had a son. Same age as me."

Suho nodded again, "But nobody knows what happened to him after his mother died."

Baekhyun looked out of the tent in Chen's direction, "Chen's age is a match and he has the same power."

Chanyeol frowned, "Are you saying Chen is this man's son?"

"How do you know about Boengae?" Xiumin asked him.

"My family was saved by him when I was six. He told me he had a son." Baekhyun closed his eyes as he remembered the eyes of the man who saved him. "Chen has his eyes."

"You're saying, that man you were yapping on about for a week, is Chen's father." Chanyeol, who grew up with Baekhyun, remembered how scared he was when gangs appeared in their neighbourhood. "He's the reason why you're a soldier and why I'm a soldier, because we do everything together."

Baekhyun gave him a teary smile, nodding. "I remember telling myself that I would grow up to be a soldier. I wanted to show him how much he influenced me. When I heard about his death a year later, I cried for days. I thought I lost the chance to thank him." He turned back to the door, "I have a second chance." Then he thought about the way he'd been treating Chen and deflated a little, "If he will give me the chance."

Xiumin frowned when Chen started tossing. He sighed, "Are we done here?" Suho nodded. "Good." He rushed outside and almost reached Chen when he noticed the electricity running through Chen's body.

"NO! Let me go, please!" Chen screamed.

Xiumin grabbed Baekhyun for he could run pass him, "Don't. He's having another nightmare."

"I didn't mean it!" Chen cried, "I didn't mean it."

"What's he talking about?"

"I don't…"

"AAHHHHH!" The team watched in horror as Chen directed his powers inward and shot up screaming before dropping back, unconscious.

"Chen!" Xiumin and Lay dropped to their knees, "Lay, can you help him?"

Lay felt his neck for a pulse and sighed in relief when he felt it, "Yeah." He directed his energy through Chen again, healing the electrical burns. "I've healed him twice now and he hasn't even been on a mission."

"It's why he's here with us. The General wants us to help him." Suho sighed, "How is…"

"Xiumin…" Chen called out weakly at the man kneeling above him, "Did I hurt someone?"

Xiumin shook his head, "Only yourself."

"That's good." Chen closed his eyes when he heard another person call his name. He opened his eyes again and saw that it was Baekhyun. He frowned. Baekhyun wasn't looking at him with contempt. He looked worried.

"I'm sorry." Baekhyun whispered before walking away, unable to face the Scorpion.

Chen turned to Xiumin, confused, "You said I didn't hurt anyone."

"You didn't. Go to sleep." Xiumin looked up at Lay who was already sending Chen into a deep healing trance. Chen's eyes slowly drifted closed.

"He won't be having nightmares for the rest of the night." Lay sighed, "I can keep doing this for him every night but it's not the solution. The nightmares are getting worse."

Suho nodded, "It'll have to do for now, until we can help him work through his demons."

* * *

For the next week, Chen ran himself into the ground during every training session. He exhausted himself because he didn't want to talk to anyone. He knew the nightmares revealed something to these men and he didn't want to talk about it. Xiumin tried to get him to talk but he walked away. He couldn't let these men find out who he really was. He wanted to stay on this team. If he screwed up here, he didn't know where he could go.

* * *

Baekhyun watched Chen from behind him, the same way Chen watched Kai and Sehun. Each day, Chen got paler and paler. He didn't let Lay help him sleep, which meant Chen probably wasn't sleeping. Chen was going to collapse soon if someone didn't do something. Baekhyun decided he was going to be that someone. It was time he repaid a part of his debt.

* * *

They were having lunch, sitting around the table D.O had rebuilt. Chen sat against the wooden post they used as one of their goals for a sport they liked to play. Baekhyun got up and walked over to Chen. "Hey Scorpion!" He called.

Xiumin immediately sat up, about to grab Baekhyun when Suho stopped him, "Baekhyun's not going to hurt him." Xiumin frowned but sat back, still tense.

Chen looked up at the Luminant walking towards him. He pulled himself up but stayed leaning against the post. He was feeling a little off today. "You know, I've been racking my brain since you came here. You remind me of someone I've met and it just hit me." Then he shook his head, "But I've got to be wrong because the man you remind me of is a hero. You're barely a shadow of him." Chen was too tired to comprehend what Baekhyun was saying, "His name was Taeyang." Chen's eyes widened at the name, erasing all doubt that Chen was Taeyang's son.

"You knew my father?" Chen's voice shook, as he pushed himself off the post.

"He saved my family and my life." Baekhyun told him, "But you can't be a son of a hero."

"Son of a hero?" Chen's scoffed, "I'm the son of a hero." He nodded, smirking, "Yeah, he was a hero to everyone…" Then he shook his head, "But he was never my hero."

"What?"

"He might as well be a hero in the stories mum used to read to me because that's all I hear about him. He's a hero." He smirked at Baekhyun, "Do you have a story to tell me as well? Everyone remembers him but me. I've seen him once. He was never home." Baekhyun turned to the others and saw the same stunned faces on his brothers, "Mum got sick but she never told the military because she knew her husband was helping families out there. She loved him and never got in his way. I watched her die calling for him. He came for her funeral." Chen wiped away his tears angrily, "Everyone loves him but I hate him. He tried to be a father that day but it was too late. It was just me and mum. That would never change. I ran away. Half a year later, the whole city was mourning his death. I didn't."

"Chen…"

It was like Chen was reliving his life. He couldn't stop himself from talking, "The military found me and gave me to a man to take care of me. He was a drunk. I shocked him once because he grabbed me and I was scared. It was the first time my powers manifested. He got scared and wanted to give me back to the military but then he knew he wouldn't get paid, so every night, he tied me up and dumped me into a tub of water, because he knew water would redirect the electricity into me."

Xiumin clenched his fist as he walked over to Chen. He calmed himself before he spoke, "Chen, you don't have to tell us anymore."

"Am I scaring you?" Chen asked him, grinning like a mad man, "Because I haven't got to the scary part yet."

"Chen, please stop." Baekhyun begged him, regretting bringing up Taeyang.

Chen spun on him, his eyes wide, "Why? Don't you want to know how much I'm not my father? That's what you said isn't it? He's a hero. I'm not. I almost died one night, when I had a nightmare about my mother's death. I wasn't breathing when he found me but he revived me and then went about his day like nothing happened. That night, he tried to tie me up again." Suho shook his head, not believing the military had entrusted Chen to a monster. "I was so scared. I couldn't stop it. He grabbed me and my powers shot out of me. When I woke up…" The image of a black corpse staring at him, haunted his mind.

"Chen." Xiumin called. Chen looked catatonic, "Chen!"

"I didn't mean it." Tears ran down his cheeks. "I didn't mean it."

"You were a kid being abused. It wasn't your fault." Xiumin told him. Chen turned to him, confused at what he was being told. He remembered being called a monster. He didn't expect anyone to believe that he didn't mean to kill the man. "The military dropped the ball. They should've had someone checking on you. It wasn't your fault."

"But I killed a man." Chen didn't understand how Xiumin was still looking at him with so much kindness in his eyes, "I'm a murderer."

"You were a kid." Suho grilled out, "A kid with powers that no one taught him how to use."

Chen shook his head and backed away from them, "I'm a murderer and all of you need to stay away from me. I could kill you in your sleep."

"I can see how much you care about everyone on this team. You would never hurt us."

Chen looked at Suho as if he was dense, "Haven't you been listening? I don't have control!"

"Yes, you do. The other night, when you had your nightmare, you redirected your powers inward. You didn't want to hurt anyone. Even asleep, you were protecting us." Suho slowly walked up to him but stopped when Chen backed away further, "Chen, let us help you."

Chen shook his head, "No one can help me. They tried. They got special people to get in my head. To try to make me forget. It didn't work. It was just more pain."

"And that's why there's a shield around your mind." Suho couldn't believe how badly his bosses messed up. So, they sent Chen here for him and his team to clean up their mess. "We can help you." Suho insisted.

"Chen look at me." Xiumin begged, "I know you can feel that this is different. We are different. We're not that monster the military left you with. You can feel it, can't you? We're a family. We're the family you should've had when you were growing up. We're the big brothers who would've protected you." Xiumin gestured to the older members, "Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the brothers who gets you into trouble and D.O keeps you all in check. Kai and Sehun are the little brothers you protect." Xiumin held out his hand, "Trust me, Chen." Chen wanted to take Xiumin's hand but he didn't trust himself. He was about to take another step back when Xiumin grabbed his hand and pulled him into his arms, "I trust you, Chen. You would never hurt me or the others." He whispered in Chen's ear, "Do you believe me?" Chen took in a shaky breath as he looked into the eyes of the other members. They all trusted him. He gave in, letting go of his fears and nodding. Xiumin smiled in relief, "Good. That's good. We won't let you down, I promise."

Chen blinked tiredly at their leader, who walked up to him and placed a hand on his head, "You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"He probably hasn't slept in almost two decades." D.O knew he wasn't far from the truth.

"Let's get him inside so I can take care of him." Lay insisted.

Xiumin pulled back and brushed Chen's hair aside, "Let's get you better." Chen nodded, almost dead on his feet. Xiumin chuckled at Chen fighting his exhaustion as they walked him back to the tent. He all but dropped into the cot and was quietly snoring away.

Baekhyun chuckled, "I think he has the right idea. I'm exhausted as well. Can we go to sleep, leader?"

Suho nodded, "Everyone have a rest. We'll take the rest of the day off."

* * *

Chen blinked owlishly at the person sitting next to him. His hand was pressed against his forehead. Lay smiled at him, sympathetically, "You don't feel well, do you?" Chen shook his head, pouting and looking very cute, making Lay laugh. "You have a fever, probably brought on by spending a week, not sleeping and barely eating." Chen looked around the tent and found it empty aside from Lay and himself. "They're all training. You've been asleep for a day." Chen's eyes widened as he struggled to get up but his arms and legs wouldn't work. Lay placed a gentle hand on his chest, calming Chen, "You'll get your strength back as soon as you start eating properly." He leaned forward and snaked his arms under Chen's, lifting him up to sit against the head of the bed. He arranged the pillows comfortably behind him. Smiling, he gently wiped the sweat beading across Chen's brow.

Chen felt his eyes water. Lay was so gentle with him. He had never felt so much kindness and looking into Lay's eyes, he knew he didn't expect anything in return. He did this because they were a family. "What's wrong, Chen?" Lay asked as he wiped away a tear that had dropped. Chen shook his head but cried even more at the gentle touch. Chen told them all that he was a killer but Lay was still kind and gentle. "Hey." Lay pulled him forward into his arms, "It's okay. You're going to be okay." Chen calmed at the soft, soothing voice. Lay pushed back and brushed Chen's hair from his eyes, "You need a haircut." Chen frowned at him and shook his head. Lay smiled, "Everything's going to be different now. You're a part of our family. Suho will protect you. We all will. This base is your home."

Chen frowned at that and shook his head, "Not this base." His voice was a little hoarse from not using it for a day, "You and the others are my home."

Lay grinned and nodded, ruffling his head, "You're right. As long as we are with you, you'll always be home." He picked up a bowl from the side table, "Time to eat. D.O made this for you. It's easy on the stomach and filled with the nutrients you need to get your strength back. He makes it for us every time we get sick." Chen looked shyly at the spoon Lay was holding. Lay smiled, "I don't feed everyone, you know. Only the members I like." Chen chuckled softly and to Lay, it was the most beautiful sound he'd heard in a long time.

* * *

After another day's rest, Chen was back on his feet but Lay still wouldn't let him do too much. Whenever they stopped training, Baekhyun would seat himself away from Chen but angled so that he could watch him. He felt bad about the way he had been treating him and wasn't sure of how to fix it.

Chen also didn't know how to approach Baekhyun. The others had sat with him at some point and chatted with him, telling Chen a little about themselves, but Baekhyun stayed away. He would sneak a small peek at Baekhyun every now and then but couldn't bring up the courage to approach him.

Xiumin watched the two and shook his head. He decided he needed to do something about them because he knew, as soon as they started talking, a strong bond would form between them. They were both fiercely protective of the people they cared about and Baekhyun was playful, which would really help Chen come out of his shell. He just needed to break the ice between them. "Hey Baekhyun, you know, there's a place that only you can show Chen. I bet he'd really like it. He can't train today anyway because Lay is being overly cautious, so why don't you show Chen around a little?"

Baekhyun frowned at him, not liking that Xiumin was trying to push him, "This is the desert, what is there to show him?" He immediately regretted his tone when he saw Chen's disappointment.

"It's okay. I'm sure it's nothing I haven't seen. Like he said, it's the desert." Chen kicked at the sand at his feet, much like a little boy would.

Xiumin glared at Baekhyun until he submitted. Baekhyun knew he didn't have a choice now, "Actually, it is a special place and Xiumin's right; I'm the only one who can show you."

Chen looked over at Xiumin, unsure, but Xiumin gave him a kind smiled and nodded, "Go. I promise you will like it."

Chen still wasn't sure. He wanted Xiumin to come as well but didn't want to make Baekhyun feel like he wasn't trusted, "Okay." He got up and followed Baekhyun.

* * *

They walked for about twenty minutes before coming to a cave. They stood at the mouth. Chen ducked and looked inside. He couldn't see a thing, "How deep is it?" He asked, hesitantly.

Baekhyun grinned, "Why? Are you scared?"

Chen frowned, "I don't like dark places." He whispered.

Baekhyun's grin faded, "I'm sorry." He should've known, with Chen's past, darkness is probably a fear that built within him, "But I promise, it won't be dark." Baekhyun lifted his hand and sent tiny bulbs of light out of his hand and into the cave.

Chen's eyes widened like a little boy, "Wow!" He gasped, "That's so cool."

Baekhyun smiled, "Come on." He nudged his head at the cave mouth.

Chen followed Baekhyun in, following the glow bugs. He was so busy with the wonder of the glow that he didn't notice he had reached a cavern until Baekhyun sent up a thousand more fairy lights. Chen held his breath as he looked around the large cavern. Baekhyun's lights reflected off the walls. Crystals sparkled, the lights refracted, sending all colours, everywhere. He looked at Baekhyun and just as he thought he couldn't be in awe anymore, he saw the Luminant with a soft, yellow glow around him. Is that… "We all have a different colour. Mine and Chanyeol's are light yellow, it means we're playful." Baekhyun grinned, looking down at his own hands, "D.O's is red because of his link to the Earth and he has a very strong and steady mind and heart. Lay's is aqua because he's a strong healer. Xiumin's is a light blue because of his serenity and honesty. Kai and Sehun glow a soft orange, because of their energy and youthfulness. Suho's is indigo. He's our leader and the wisest." Baekhyun shrugged, "We try not to remind him of that. He'll get a big head."

Chen smiled, "Blue. Honest and serene. That's what I feel when I'm around Xiumin."

Baekhyun nodded, "That's why he's the one you trust. If he were here, you'll probably be glowing brighter."

Chen's eyes widened, "I'm glowing?" He looked down at his hands and noticed that he had a dim light around himself, "What does it mean?"

Baekhyun smiled sadly, "That you're afraid to trust."

"Oh…" Chen bowed his head, "I'm sorry."

Baekhyun chuckled, "Why are you sorry?"

"I want to trust you all but it's hard." Chen looked torn, "Usually, when people are nice to me, they want something."

"You're right. We do want something."

"Oh…" Chen deflated, "I…"

Baekhyun smiled, "We want you to be yourself around us. We want you to trust us enough to be yourself."

Chen frowned, confused and worried, "How?"

"What?" It was Baekhyun's turn to be confused, "What do you mean, how?"

"I want to trust all of you but I don't know how. What do I do?" Chen asked, as if asking how to solve a mathematical problem.

Baekhyun let out a long breath. Chen doesn't know how it feels to trust someone because he has never been given any reason to trust anyone since his mother died and that was so long ago, he doesn't remember how it feels. "Trust is a feeling you have, Chen. You don't do anything."

Chen looked at his own hands again, looking disappointed with himself. He didn't glow brightly like Baekhyun because something was wrong with him and according to Baekhyun, there was nothing he could do about it. "Thank you for bringing me here. Can we go back now?"

Baekhyun sighed. He knew Xiumin was hoping this would bring he and Chen together but it didn't have the effect they wanted.

* * *

While Baekhyun and Chen were at the cave, Suho called Xiumin into his office. He pulled up a file on his screen and showed Xiumin. The file was given to him after Suho called his superiors to tell them what he knew. Reluctantly, they gave him his true mission; earn Chen's trust. They also told him something else but he was not allowed to reveal it to his team. Suho hated keeping things from them.

Xiumin studied the picture and then read the name, "This is Chen's father." Suho nodded, "Why are you showing me this?"

"Taeyang had a special ability. He could create a force field around his team, protecting them from psychic attacks. The shield Chen has around his mind can be extended if he's trained." Suho told him, "He was sent here to be trained in that area."

"The military wants us to train him." Xiumin squinted as he read about Taeyang's ability, "According to this, it only works if he has complete trust in his team. We can't train him to trust us, we need to earn it and he needs to earn ours."

"That's the biggest hurdle."

"He doesn't have any reason to trust anyone." Xiumin sighed, "The military betrayed him his entire life. They took his father away and then found him only to give him to a monster. I don't understand why he would even join the army after what they've done."

"Our orders are to train him and that's what we need to focus on. Don't think about anything else."

Xiumin didn't like the sound of that, "What happens to him after we train him? Is he officially a part of our team?" Suho looked away guiltily, "He's not, is he? He's our mission and that's it." Xiumin took Suho's silence as an admission, "I'm not going to gain his trust, just to give him back. It's not going to happen."

"This will help Chen."

"Not if we send him back. It'll kill him."

"What do you suggest?"

"I'm not sending him back. That's my stand on it but you need to tell the rest of the team that Chen's a mission. They're already bonding with him, especially Kai and Sehun."

Suho nodded, "I'll talk to them after Chen goes to sleep tonight. Lay can help him sleep again. He still needs his rest."

Xiumin sighed. He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Lay made sure Chen was in a restful sleep before leaving the tent and joining the others outside. He could tell that Suho didn't have good news for them. Suho had asked him to make sure Chen slept well which meant he didn't want Chen waking up during their talk. "Baekhyun, you and Chen didn't look good when you returned from the cave. Did something happen?" Suho asked him before telling them about what they needed to know.

"His glow was dim." Baekhyun told them, "But that wasn't worst of it. When I told him what it meant, he wanted to know what he had to do to trust us. He has no idea how it feels to trust someone."

Xiumin gave Suho an exasperated looked, "This just gets better and better."

Chanyeol frowned at their leader and eldest member, "What do you mean?"

Suho let out a long breath, "Chen was sent to us for a reason and it's not to join our team."

* * *

It was as if Chen's mind knew something was wrong. He could sense it in Lay when he helped him relax. Chen's shield around his mind almost had a mind of its own. It protected Chen without him knowing it. So, Chen woke up not long after Lay had left the tent. Chen blinked as he looked around the tent and found it empty. He was a little disappointed. He hadn't found himself alone for days now. Usually, when he awoke, someone; usually Xiumin, was next to him. He heard voices outside the tent and got up. He wasn't good at falling back asleep after waking up. Maybe he could find Xiumin. He paused at the tent flap when he heard Suho's voice, "Chen was sent to us for a reason and it's not to join our team." Chen frowned. He was told he was joining this team and that this was his last chance to find a team he could bond with. What Suho said didn't make sense.

* * *

"Why is he here then?"

"Because the General wants us to train him in his psychic abilities. Chen inherited his father's traits but the military hasn't been able to get them to manifest. Chen doesn't have control of it." Suho told them.

"We don't know anything about psychic abilities." Sehun didn't understand, "Why would we know how to train him?"

"We don't. We just need him to trust us." Xiumin told them, "It's what brings about his ability."

"So, we need him to trust us." Baekhyun shook his head, "That's easier said than done. Like I said, he doesn't even understand it."

Lay narrowed his eyes as he thought about what Suho was telling him, "What if we can do it and he trusts us and he can control his powers? What then?"

Suho sighed, "My guess is the General will come and take him back."

The whole team paused, "That's it? They take him away." Kai gasped.

* * *

Chen didn't even know tears were running down his cheeks. This was just another one of the military's tricks. He should've known better. They don't want him on a team. They wanted what he could do…what his father could do. He wasn't going to let that happen. He didn't want to be his father. Chen opened the flap and stepped out of the tent.

Xiumin, who was facing the tent, shot off his seat, "Chen!" They all jumped, turning to the Scorpion, "Chen…"

Chen shook his head at him, "Don't try to explain. I'm used to it. The military has taken everything from me. I'm not letting them turn me into my father. I'm not their property and I'm not your responsibility. You can't train me and I'll _never...trust_ you." With that, Chen started walking out of their camp.

"Chen!" Xiumin chased after him but a field of electricity shot up, surrounding Chen, stopping Xiumin in his tracks. "Chen, please don't go."

Chen turned around, "I told you. I'm not my father. This shield only protects me. Don't come near me. There's a reason why the military keeps me around. I'm dangerous. I'm a killer. I can kill in my sleep." Chen's eyes were cold. It wasn't the Chen they've seen in the past few weeks. He looked at his hands and then up at Baekhyun, "I wonder what colour I would be if I went back to the cave. Black maybe."

"Chen. I can't let you leave." Suho called out, "I have my orders."

"How can you stop me?" Chen smirked.

"Please don't make me." Suho begged. Knowing Chen's history made the situation worse. "There's another reason why they chose this team."

Xiumin's eyes shot to Suho, "You can't!"

Suho glared at him and grilled out, "I don't have a choice."

Chen frowned, "What's so special about you?" He let electricity build in his hand, ready to defend himself.

"I'm sorry." Suho whispered before a wave appeared from behind Chen, slamming him to the hot desert ground.

Chen screamed as the electricity was sent through his own body instead. He arched against the ground before falling unconscious. "Chen!" Xiumin skidded to a stop beside Chen, "Chen!"

Lay was right behind Xiumin. He picked up Chen's warm hands and sent his energy through Chen's body.

Suho walked up to them, "Take him to the tent and cuff him to his bed. My powers will keep him in check."

Xiumin shot up and grabbed him by the shirt, "What the hell are you doing? You can't do this to him!"

"I don't have a choice. I have my…"

"Screw your damn orders!" Xiumin shoved him hard. "This is not what we stand for! He's innocent. How can you do this to him, knowing what the military has done?!" He screamed, "Knowing what he's been through!"

"It's not our place to question our commanders. We follow orders. You know that!" Suho growled at his 2iC. "Baekhyun, Chanyeol, get Chen into the tent." Baekhyun didn't move and he grabbed Chanyeol when he did. Suho looked around and saw that no one was going to do as he asked. "Fine. I'll do it myself." Suho knelt and pulled Chen over his shoulders, grunting as he lifted him and carried him back to the tent.

* * *

The team watched in silence as their leader cuffed both Chen's hands to the head of the bed, above his head, "I'm sorry, Chen." He whispered before leaving.

"You're making the biggest mistake of your life. Any chance you had of gaining his trust is gone now. He'll never trust any of us again. You've just condemned him." Xiumin couldn't believe his leader, that he respected so much, was doing this to a fellow soldier.

"They're my orders."

"Go ahead and hide behind those orders but we all know you had a choice. You just made the wrong one. If anything happens to Chen, I'm done here." Xiumin threatened. The only reason he was staying right now was to watch over Chen. Suho didn't know how badly his actions would affect Chen.

* * *

When Chen woke up to find himself cuffed to the bed and soaked, he started shaking. He remembered the mad man and panicked, "No! No!" Chen pulled at the cuffs, struggling as he tried to escape, "Please." His powers shot out, "AAAAHHH!" He screamed as the electricity ran through him.

"Chen!" Xiumin couldn't get near Chen without getting electrocuted himself. He was sitting on his bed when he heard Chen call out. "Chen, calm down. It's okay." But Chen didn't hear him. The fear only intensified. "Chen!" Electricity shook Chen's body again.

Baekhyun rushed into the tent and stood in shock at Chen's writhing in the bed in pain. His wrists were bleeding from the struggle. "He's going to kill himself." He bolted out of the tent to find his leader. By the time he dragged Suho in, Chen had electrocuted himself again. "Dry him before he kills himself!"

Suho watched in shock as Chen screamed until his voice was hoarse. "Chen! Stop."

Chen shook in fear at Suho's voice. "You…"

"Chen, please listen to me. You're not a prisoner. I…"

"Your powers…you're just like him. You…" Chen struggled when Suho got closer. He slipped off the bed but his hands were still cuffed. He kept pulling at the metal, not even caring that it was tearing his skin, "You're here to kill me."

"No." Suho shook his head, "I didn't have a choice, Chen. I couldn't let you leave. The General gave me orders. If I let you leave, you'll die for sure."

Xiumin glared at him, "What are you talking about?"

Suho closed his eyes. This was getting out of hand. He wasn't allowed to disclose this mission at all but Chen was going to kill himself if he didn't tell them the truth, "You have a kill chip at the base of your skull, Chen. If you move beyond the caves, you'll die."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Xiumin finally understood why his leader seemed like another man. He was never one to blindly follow orders. "Damn it, Suho. We could've come up with something together!"

Chen wasn't even listening, he kept pulling hard. D.O couldn't stand it anymore. With the flick of his wrist, he sent a cup into the back of Chen's head, knocking him unconscious. Chen dropped, against the bed. Baekhyun ran up to him and uncuffed him, cradling Chen in his arms. He and D.O lifted him and placed him back on the bed. "How hard did you hit him?" Lay asked as he checked the injury, knowing he couldn't heal him.

Suho closed his eyes. He let this mess get out of control. "You should've been straight with us from the beginning. When did we start keeping secrets?" Xiumin hissed at him before walking over to Chen.

"Chen's never going to trust us after this." Kai left the tent with Sehun. There was nothing they could do for Chen and they couldn't stay in there with their leader.

Lay tried to heal the torn skin around Chen's wrist but something was stopping his energy. He concentrated harder, still, nothing. He sighed, "Chen's fighting me. Even unconscious, he's not letting me help him."

"I thought it was only his mind that you couldn't heal."

"It was but somehow Chen's managed to extend that protection even further." Lay pulled at his hair in frustration, "I've never met anyone like him." He went over to the shelf and pulled out the first aid kit he barely used and started tending to Chen the old fashion way. "I suggest you pull back your powers before he wakes up. We're lucky he didn't kill himself." Lay scolded their leader.

Suho absorbed the water from Chen's clothes, "He still can't leave."

"We know that, but we'll find a better way to keep him here than to treat him like an animal." D.O glared at their leader, "You should've told us."

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be here when he wakes up. Your the monster in his nightmares." Baekhyun was angry, "I don't know how we're going to help him but I know that you're not a part of the solution."

* * *

Chen developed a fever during the night. It kept rising to a dangerous level before staying there. Xiumin tried to control the heat with his powers. It kept Chen comfortable but the fever refused to break. When the rest of the team were asleep, Xiumin picked up Chen's hand and held it between his, "I meant it when I told you we're your family. I'm going to prove it to you."

* * *

In the following days, Chen may as well have been a statue. He sat in his bed, not moving, eating or drinking. His eyes were glazed over. There was no will to live. Lay started an IV line to deliver the nutrients Chen needed to stay alive, otherwise he would die from dehydration. Xiumin stayed with him, never leaving his side unless absolutely necessary. Chen wouldn't even look at him. He looked forlorn. "I really wish you would let down your shield." Xiumin looked down at Chen's wrist, "At least Lay could heal that if you did." Chen didn't answer. Xiumin didn't even know if Chen was listening at all but he kept talking anyway because he had to keep hoping. "Suho didn't mean to hurt you. He's trying to protect you. Did you know you had a kill chip in your head?" No answer. "It's at the base of your skull." Xiumin hesitantly reached over. His hand paused near Chen's neck and when the Scorpion didn't react, he kept reaching behind his neck and pressing on the place where the chip was located, "Right here." He told Chen, "If you leave a certain radius, it'll kill you. Suho panicked and could only think of one way to stop you from leaving."

Chen started shaking at the reminder of what Suho did. Water. Suho was that monster. He was dangerous.

"Chen?" Xiumin called to him, seeing the trembling, "Chen, it's okay. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Chen continued shaking. He wasn't seeing Xiumin. He was trapped in a nightmare, a memory.

"Please let me go." Chen begged, "I'll be a good boy. I promise." Tears kept running down his face, "Please." He rubbed his hands together, begging them to let him go. "Please." Xiumin closed his eyes in defeat. He didn't know what to do. He wished there was a psychic among them, that way he could at least see what's going on in his head. "I want my mum. Where's my mum?" Chen cried as he begged, "Please, sir. Take me to my mum. They took her away." Xiumin opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of a seven-year old boy who had just lost his mother, "Please, let me go. I want to see my mum."

"Chen…" It was as if the trauma of everything that has happened, made Chen revert back to when he was little. The fear he's feeling now must be similar to what he felt when he was a child.

"How do you know my name?"

Xiumin opened his mouth about to remind Chen of what happened when he realised, he wasn't going to get through to a seven-year-old. Xiumin took a breath and gave Chen a kind smile, "My name's Xiumin. I want to help you."

"Can you take me to my mother? They took her away." Chen wiped away his tear, trying to be brave.

Xiumin pressed a gentle hand against Chen's cheek, "I'm sorry, Chen, but your mother is gone."

Tears filled his eyes again. His bottom lip trembled as he tried to stop himself from crying. His mother told him he needed to be brave before she closed her eyes, "She's not waking up, is she?"

Xiumin shook his head, "I'm sorry, Chen." He climbed onto the bed and pulled 'the little boy' into his arms, cradling him the way he would a child, "It's okay to cry, Chen. You can cry as much as you want." He hugged him tighter as Chen let out all of his emotions, sobbing hard. "That's it. Just cry." Xiumin knew, nobody allowed Chen to cry like this. Nobody held him when his mother died. Nobody took care of him. Xiumin didn't know what happened but he knew Chen didn't have anyone in his life he could cry to…not even his father.

Baekhyun walked into the tent with a plate of food for Xiumin. He stopped at the scene. Xiumin shook his head at him, telling him not to say a word, "You were so brave to stay with your mother. You're a good son. Your mum would be so proud of you." Baekhyun frowned at the words. Chen's mother died almost two decades ago. "Tell me about her."

Chen's sobbing calmed a little, "She…she's the most beautiful woman on this planet. She…she…loves me. She calls me her little man."

Baekhyun's eyes widened when he realised Xiumin was talking to a seven-year-old. "Oh man…"

Chen jolted in Xiumin's arms when he heard the new voice. He leaned further into Xiumin's arms when he saw Baekhyun standing at the entrance of the tent. Baekhyun was a quick thinker and was very good with kids. Immediately, he gave Chen a bright smile and put the plate down. "Hey Xiumin, who do we have here?"

Xiumin smiled gratefully, knowing Baekhyun could handle the situation, "This is Chen. He just lost his mother but he's a really brave boy."

Baekhyun opened his mouth, as if just remembering something, "Are you Chen? Your mother's name is Moon."

Chen lifted his head slightly from Xiumin's shoulder, "You know my mum? Can you take me to her?"

Baekhyun smiled at him sadly, "I'm sorry, Chen. You know I can't bring her back."

Chen sniffled, "I know."

"But she gave me something to give to you." Baekhyun pulled out a crystal from his pocket and created a light, sending it into the crystal. He sat on the bed in front of Chen and held the crystal in his palm, in front of him. The light made Chen's wet eyes sparkle. Baekhyun saw the innocence in the boy's eyes, "Your mother told me to tell you that this light will never go out and as long as you have this, she will always be with you."

Chen hesitantly lifted his hand and picked up the crystal, "It's warm." His eyes were wide with wonder, "Just like her." He whispered.

Baekhyun nodded, "That's right, it bright and warm, just like a mother's love for her son."

Chen held the crystal tight in his hand, then pulled himself from Xiumin and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, "Thank you. Thank you!"

Baekhyun smiled, rubbing his back, "You're welcome, Chen." Xiumin smiled gratefully at him. Then he had a thought. If Chen's mind was only seven years old right now, he wondered…

"Stay with him. I'm going to get Lay." Xiumin ruffled Chen's hair, "I'll be right back, Chen." Chen pulled back in a panic when Xiumin ran out of the tent.

"It's okay, Chen. Xiumin will be back." Baekhyun took him by the shoulders and grinned, "While we are waiting, why don't we have a little bit of fun." He held out his closed hand in front of Chen's face, "Ready?" Chen frowned, confused. Suddenly, Baekhyun's hand opened and out burst hundreds of little lights. Chen's eyes widened at the beautiful lights floating around him.

"Wow." Chen gasped, "It's magic." He slowly got on his knees, still looking up, "Can I touch it?"

"Sure, you can." Baekhyun smiled at how young Chen looked.

Chen reached up and grabbed a handful. He pulled them down and opened his hand again. The little lights floated in his palm, "You're a wizard." Baekhyun chuckled as Chen reached for more.

Xiumin and Lay entered the tent. They were shocked at all the lights. "What's going on?" Lay asked.

Chen, who was no longer afraid of the people here, tilted his head at Lay, "Are you a wizard too?"

Lay frowned, confused at the childish question, "Um…"

"He is." Baekhyun answered for Lay. "But he's a different kind of wizard. He can make you feel better."

Chen gave Baekhyun a big smile that reached his eyes, "You already did that." He whispered as if it were a secret.

Baekhyun chuckled, "I mean, he can make all your aches and pain go away."

Chen frowned as he sat back on his legs. He only just realised that he was sore and his wrists were bandaged. He looked at them, confused, "What happened to me?"

"Let's not worry about that right now. Why don't you sit back and let Lay work his magic on you?" It wasn't hard to distract a child.

Chen immediately sat back obediently and held out his wrists to Lay. His eyes were wide as he waited for Lay to fix him. Lay grinned and sat on the bed. He held his hand over Chen's wrist. Chen felt the warm energy enter his wrists and move up his arms to his shoulders and then through the rest of his body. The warmth made him tired. He blinked owlishly at Lay. "That's feel nice." He yawned. Lay took Chen's wrist and lowered them. He slowly unwrapped them, revealing flawless skin underneath.

Xiumin smiled, "It worked."

Chen yawned again, "Are all of you wizards?"

Baekhyun chuckled and then shook his head, "Think of us as your guardian angels. Now…go to sleep."

Chen let his eyes drift closed, "'kay." He curled up into a ball and was gone.

"What's going on?" Lay finally asked.

Xiumin shrugged, "My best guess is that something reminded him of the day his mother died and he reverted back to that time. I think his mind couldn't handle what was happening in the present time." He pulled the blanket over the boy, smiling at how peaceful he looked.

"But why revert to his worse memory." Lay didn't understand, "Why not before his mother died?"

"I don't know, but as a child Chen hasn't been betrayed yet. He's still open to trusting people." Xiumin shrugged, "It's working. Little Chen trusts us."

Baekhyun smiled, "Yeah. He's so innocent that he still believes in magic and wizards."

"I think this is our chance. If he still remembers us when he wakes up, then maybe…he can trust us enough to let us help him." Xiumin could only hope.

"That's a long shot." Lay was sceptical.

"What choice do we have?" Baekhyun asked, "It's the only hope we have."

* * *

Chen woke up a few hours later. He looked around the tent and found himself alone. Something was different. It wasn't his surroundings, it was himself. He felt different…lighter? He didn't understand why? He remembered everything that had happened. He remembered being cuffed and soaked. He remembered Suho saying he was a mission. Chen reached behind his head. He remembered Xiumin telling him he had a kill chip in his head. He looked at his wrists. He also remembered his skin torn around his wrists but there was nothing now. He didn't understand what was going on.

There was something else. There was a memory so clear in his mind but it didn't make sense. He remembered meeting Xiumin, Baekhyun and Lay after his mother died but how was it possible that they looked exactly how they did today. Someone was playing a trick on him. It had to be. He got off the bed, intending to get out of there when something dropped to the floor. He looked down. It was a crystal, glowing brightly. Chen knelt and picked it up, studying it. It was impossible that the memory was real but this crystal proves that it was. "What's going on?"

"Chen?"

Chen jolted at the call of his name. He looked up to find Xiumin and Baekhyun. Chen slowly rose, still holding the crystal. He held it out to Baekhyun, "You gave me this when I was seven." He stated, knowing it was true but not understanding how. Baekhyun nodded, smiling. "How?"

Xiumin smiled sadly at the confused expression, "Do you remember crying with me?" Chen nodded, "Did you trust me then?" Again, Chen nodded. He did. "Do you still trust me?" Chen frowned. He was confused. Both feelings from his adult self and his childhood was so strong, he didn't know which to trust. "I would never hurt you."

Baekhyun held his out his hand and let out the fairy lights, "Remember the magic."

Chen felt everything he felt as a child when these men walked into his life. He looked up at the light. Tears in his eyes, "I don't understand."

"Don't try to Chen. Just remember how you felt and trust that feeling." Xiumin walked up to him and took him by the shoulders, gently, "Remember that little boy. He's still in there." Xiumin placed a firm hand on his chest, "Don't forget him. Don't forget us."

"You weren't alone when she died. You had us." Baekhyun told him, "We were your…"

"Guardian angels." Chen gasped, remembering, "You were there."

Xiumin smiled, "That's right." He pulled Chen into his arms, "We were there for you then and we'll be here for you now. Please let us help you."

Chen cried into Xiumin's shoulder. It felt so good to have someone to lean on, Chen didn't think he could let go even if he tried. He knew he was leaving himself vulnerable but he couldn't go back to being alone again. He would rather die. "Okay."

Xiumin closed his eyes in relief. Baekhyun wrapped his arms around both of them, "I'm going to protect you from anyone who wants to hurt you. You're never going back. I'm never letting you go." Baekhyun promised him.

Lay walked in then and smiled at the scene. Xiumin and Baekhyun did it. "Hi Chen."

Chen pulled back from Xiumin and tilted his head at the new arrival. He looked down at his wrists, "You're the one who healed me." Lay nodded. "You're the other wizard in my memory."

Lay chuckled, "I've never been called that but I like it."

Chen frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, "Are you going to get this thing out of me?"

Lay closed his eyes and tried to feel for the chip but he was pushed back by Chen's force field. He shook his head, "Not until you let down your shield."

Chen sighed and turned back to Xiumin, worried his friend thought he didn't trust them, "I don't know how to. I don't mean to keep it there."

Baekhyun smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "We know you don't. We'll figure it out together."

A call from outside the tent made Chen jump and take a couple of steps back in fear. Baekhyun frowned at the reaction and placed a hand against his back. "It's okay. It's just Sehun. I'll go outside and talk to him. Stay here with Xiumin and Lay." Chen grabbed his arm before he could leave and wrapped his arms around him.

"Thank you for the magical memory. I don't understand it but I know it's real." Chen pulled back and opened his hand, showing Baekhyun the crystal in his palm, "My mother's love and your friendship." Baekhyun gave him a teary smile before leaving. He didn't trust himself to speak.

Xiumin chuckled as Baekhyun left the tent, "That's the first I've seen him lost for words."

* * *

Baekhyun put a finger to his lips before Sehun could say anything. He didn't want Chen to hear them talking. He walked them over to the lunch table before letting Sehun talk. "How is Chen?" Sehun asked, hesitantly.

"He's better. At least he'll be staying with us."

Sehun smiled in relief, "That's good. Suho would be happy to hear that."

Baekhyun glared at the youngest, "Did he tell you to ask?"

Sehun winced, realising what he had said, "Yes, but only because he doesn't want to make Chen worse."

"Well tell him we'll take care of Chen and if anyone tries to take him away, they'll need to go through me and that includes him." Baekhyun clenched his jaw, "I'll get whatever you guys need out of the tent. Don't go in there. Chen almost jumped out of his skin when he heard your voice." He got up, ready to go back inside when Sehun called out to him.

"Suho really didn't want to hurt Chen. He was protecting everyone, including Chen." Sehun begged Baekhyun to believe him.

Baekhyun sighed and turned to the youngest, "I know he meant well but we're a team. He kept too much from us and it almost killed Chen. We need Chen's trust to save him and Suho all but destroyed it. Right now, I don't even know how to trust Suho." He left Sehun feeling deflated. The team was falling apart.

* * *

Suho sat at his desk, reading the files on Chen, his father, mother and his orders. He knew he had messed up badly. He should've been upfront with the team about Chen and because he wasn't, he had lost their faith in him. Suho pinched the bridge of his nose, not knowing what to do anymore.

"Suho?"

Suho looked up and found Chanyeol with D.O, Kai and Sehun. He sighed, "What is it?"

"Baekhyun told Sehun that he wasn't letting Chen go back and if you try, he'll fight you. I'm sure Xiumin and Lay feels the same way and the truth is, so do we." Chanyeol told him.

"We've never gone against your orders, Suho, but you're wrong this time." D.O clenched his jaw, angry at being used by the General, "I will go AWOL if I have to."

"I'll teleport him away from here if that's what's needed." Kai backed them up.

"You're wrong, Suho. Chen needs us." Sehun wiped at the tears that were coming, "Don't make us go against you, please."

Suho let out a long breath, "How is he?"

"For some reason, Chen trusts Xiumin, Baekhyun and Lay." Chanyeol told him, "Something happened last night. Lay managed to heal him but he still has a shield around his mind."

Suho nodded and stood, picking up the files on his table and dumping them into a trashcan, "Screw my orders. We'll go dark if we need to."

Sehun grinned and whooped! Their leader was back! Suho smiled at him, although at the back of his mind, he wondered if this decision was too little, too late.

* * *

Baekhyun sat on his bed, smiling at Chen snuggled against Xiumin in the small bed. Chen had fallen asleep against him and Xiumin didn't have the heart to get off. They've never seen this side of Chen and they never would've believed there was this side of him. Lay saw the way Baekhyun was looking at Chen, "He's like that because he remembers us when he was a child. To him, we're like his older brothers. We were exactly what he needed when his mother passed. I think this was all a blessing in disguise. If it wasn't for this trauma, he'd still be fighting us."

"He's very cute." Baekhyun chuckled, "And protective. His mother must've been a pretty amazing woman."

"And as much as he may hate his father for not being around, he inherited his father's protective side." Xiumin whispered, "The difference is, he wants to protect those he loves."

"That makes him a great teammate but probably not so great soldier."

"He's seen the effects of a good soldier on their family. He won't let that happen to the people he loves. Protecting his teammates means protecting their families." Xiumin pulled Chen tighter against him when he whimpered from a nightmare, calming him, "For him, it means protecting himself as well. We're his family now."

"What about Suho and the military?" Baekhyun asked about the real problem.

It was Lay who answered, "Suho will come around if he hasn't already. The truth is we all feel the same way as Chen, to some extent. Suho's no different. This is our family." His expression hardened, "As for the military, I'm done with them. If I can get that chip out of Chen's head, then we're getting him out of here."

"If we can get that chip out of Chen, that means he trusts us. If he trusts us, the military won't be able to find us." Baekhyun smirked, "The General made a mistake sending him here. We can disappear and there's nothing they can do about it."

"We still need to train him in his powers. He doesn't have control over the physical side of his powers, the mental part will be even harder to train." Xiumin sighed, "Especially since we've never had training in that ourselves."

* * *

Chen sat on his bed with his legs crossed, resting his chin in his hands as he watched the three older members talk about him. Ever since he was a kid, he never liked it when people talked about him while he was in the room. The military did it all the time, but he never liked them so he didn't care that they ignored him. He didn't like it when his mother and her friends did it and he didn't like his friends doing it. He pouted, waiting for them to acknowledge him and when they finally did, he added a very unimpressed frown to go with his pout. Baekhyun couldn't help but chuckle at his friend. "He's so cute."

"What's wrong, Chennie Chennie?" Xiumin asked, amused.

Chen sat up straight at the new name. He narrowed his eyes at his new best friend. He didn't like the name at all. It made him sound like a little boy. "I don't think he likes the new name, Xiumin." Lay sat down, next to Chen and wrapped an arm around him, "What's wrong?"

"You shouldn't talk about people when they're in the same room. It's rude." Chen huffed, going back to pouting, "And don't call me Chennie Chennie."

"It'll grow on you, I promise. You look more like a Chennie right now." Xiumin laughed when Chen turned his head away from him, like a petulant little boy, "For someone who doesn't want me to treat him like a kid, you're sure acting like one."

"I'm the youngest here. I'm allowed to be!" Chen still remembered them as a little boy and couldn't help being like this. There was also the fact that he was scared. He'd never had anyone take care of him like this. It scared him that it could all disappear if he couldn't do what they needed him to do. He didn't want them to leave him.

Xiumin caught the fear in Chen's eyes before he looked away. He knelt in front of Chen and ruffled his hair, "Don't be scared. I'm right here." He gave Chen a confident smile.

"What if I can't fix this?" Chen asked, pointing to his own head.

Xiumin pulled down Chen's hand, "There's nothing wrong there so there's nothing to fix." Chen frowned at him. He knew something was wrong there because Lay couldn't help him.

Baekhyun knelt next to Xiumin, "You're protecting yourself." He gently tapped the side of Chen's head, "It's your defense against the people who want to hurt you. There's nothing wrong with you. It'll come down when you feel safe."

"But I do feel safe! All of you make me feel safe." Chen begged them to believe him.

"We know." Lay rubbed his shoulder, "You feel safe in here but what about outside of this tent. Do you feel safe with the others?" Chen turned to him, worry clear on his expression as he shook his head, "I think that's the key. You need to feel safe with all of us, not just us three. Your mind and heart know that we're a team. Without trusting them, you won't let down the shield."

Chen let out a huff, "I don't even know how it got there. How can I let it down?"

Baekhyun chuckled. Chen was talking about the shield like a bruise on his body he didn't realise he had, "And you probably won't even notice when it disappears, so don't think about it. Forcing yourself won't help. Relax and let us take care of you."

"I don't like. I don't like. I don't like." Chen complained.

Baekhyun burst out laughing, "A bit of a control freak, aren't you? No wonder why you like Xiumin so much. He's a neat freak."

"Hey!" Xiumin shoved Baekhyun, making him topple over then smiled at Chen, affectionately ruffling his hair, "He's right. Don't think about it. Do you trust me?" Chen nodded without hesitation, "You can't build your trust in the rest of the team by staying in here."

Lay felt Chen lean into him a little. He gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "You know Xiumin won't leave your side."

"It's lunch time. We all need to eat. You don't have to talk to the others." Baekhyun told him, "But I do miss eating with them. What do you say?"

Chen lifted his eyes to Xiumin who smiled back understandingly. He knew whichever choice he made, Xiumin would support him. "Okay." Chen answered softly, receiving a proud smile from Xiumin. He returned a shy smile.

* * *

Kai and Sehun were setting up the table for lunch while Chanyeol cooked the meat D.O had marinated. It's not often they got to do this with their training and busy schedule but Suho gave them a new mission; _show Chen the real meaning of family._ Suho and D.O were making the salads and side dishes. "Is the rice ready?" Kai asked.

"I'll check." Sehun walked over to the pot over the fire, lifting the lid without even thinking, "Ah!"

At the same time a voice called out from the tent, "Careful!"

Sehun hissed as he held his finger to his ear lobe. Everyone looked over at the person who called out. It was Chen.

Chen looked around the camp, self-consciously as everyone turned to him. He took a step to the side, hiding behind Xiumin. His heart was pounding. Baekhyun grin. Even after everything, Chen was still watching out for their youngest. "He should be more careful." He heard Chen mumble to himself. It was quite amusing.

"Ya! Sehun," Baekhyun called out, "Chen says you should be more careful." Chen glared at the blatant betrayal. Baekhyun only stuck out his tongue and ran off.

"Traitor!" Chen hissed, still standing behind Xiumin.

Xiumin shook his head at Baekhyun before turning around to face Chen, "Come on. Food's ready." He and Lay lead Chen over to the table.

As they walked past Sehun, the youngest, dipped his head to him, "Thank you, Chen. I'll be more careful next time." He smiled when Chen nodded nervously at him. Sehun grabbed a scrap piece of cloth, using it to open the lid. The rice was perfect. He mixed it with the wooden spoon before getting the bowls and filling them.

Chanyeol and D.O laid out the plates of meat in front of them, while Suho sat down at the head of the table, on the opposite end of Chen, knowing the boy was still scared of him. "Are you hungry?" Sehun placed a bowl of rice in front of Chen. Chen's eyes widened at the over-flowing bowl. "D.O marinated the meat. He's a really good cook. You should eat as much as you can. We don't get to do this often." Suho smiled. Sehun was nervous. He tended to ramble when he was nervous.

Chen scratched his head, "I can't fit anything else in my bowl." He said under his breath.

Baekhyun burst out laughing, "He's got a point, Sehun." He picked up Chen's bowl and started taking a spoon out of it, dividing it into the other's bowls. "The good thing about being a family, is that we can divide any problem and share what we have." He said wisely as he got back around the table and place Chen's bowl in front of him again, "Suho taught us that."

Chen looked down at his bowl, looking much more decent, "Thank you." He kept his head down.

Baekhyun nudged D.O. D.O frowned at him, "You made the food. Serve it."

"Shouldn't that mean someone else should serve?" D.O complained even as he stood and picked up the tongs, "This is spicy. Do you like spice?" D.O asked Chen, who still had his head down. He put the food into Chen's bowl without waiting for an answer, "Will you try it?"

Xiumin nudged Chen when he didn't answer. Chen jumped, turning to Xiumin. Xiumin nudged his head towards D.O who was across from them then looked down at his bowl, only just noticing the food there, "It…it smells…really good." He stuttered as he picked up his fork, "I like spicy food." He whispered.

D.O grinned as he sat back down. "Ya!" Baekhyun complained, "What about the rest of us?"

"You have hands, serve yourself!" D.O grabbed food for himself, "And be quick because this is all I made."

"Wow…you're so bias." They all dug into the food, eating happily and gratefully. There was more food than they needed. They talked like they normally would. Chen didn't join in but he listened.

* * *

The team sat back full from all the food, except Chen, who filled his bowl with rice again and got more meat. Their eyes widened when Chen continued eating. Kai and Sehun, who loved food, were in awe of Chen's eating ability. Baekhyun looked underneath the table and then back up again. He got up and walked around Chen, then back again and then got on the ground and crawled under the table. That got Chen's attention. He climbed off his seat and stood back, still holding his bowl of rice. The team just sat back and enjoyed the show. They were all used to Baekhyun's antics but this was new to Chen.

Chen ate another spoonful of rice as he waited for Baekhyun to come out from under the table. Baekhyun got up and looked at Chen in disbelief, "How do you fit so much in?" Chen frowned at him. Baekhyun walked up to him and lifted his shirt.

"Wae!?" Chen jumped back, shocked and a little annoyed. The others were trying to not laugh and he didn't know if they were laughing at him or Baekhyun.

"Seriously." Baekhyun walked around him, keeping up the act, "Where do you store it?" He lifted up Chen's shirt from the back.

"Stop it!" Chen backed away from him, "Go away!"

"How can someone who can eat so much be as skinny as you!?" Baekhyun finally asked, making everyone burst out laughing.

Chen looked around the table, then wiped his mouth and put the bowl down, half finished, "I'm sorry." He was about to run back into the tent but Xiumin grabbed him and pulled him back into his seat.

"Keep eating. I like that you have such a big appetite." Xiumin encouraged, "Ignore Baekhyun, he's just jealous that he'll need to train extra hard tomorrow to work off this meal."

"Don't tell me you're not shocked." Baekhyun dared him to answer in the negative.

Xiumin had to admit, it was quite amazing to watch. Chen was too self-conscious now to keep eating. He pushed his bowl away, "I'm done. It was really good." He bowed his head at D.O and Chanyeol, "Thank you."

"You can keep eating if you like it. Just ignore them." D.O told him, "I like watching people eat the food I make. Makes me happy." Chen just shook his head, then looked at Xiumin, silently asking for his permission to go back inside.

"The team put a lot of effort into this lunch. I think we should stay and help clean up?" Xiumin suggested gently. Chen's eyes widened, not believing that he had forgotten about that. He nodded, earnestly and quickly got up, clearing his and Xiumin's plates. He piled the empty plates on top of each other and carried them over to the large empty tub.

* * *

Suho kept quiet the entire time. He spoke to the others but didn't speak directly to Chen. He watched the boy help wash the dishes, while Xiumin rinsed and Kai and Sehun, drying. They made quick work of the dishes. He noticed how Chen had no problem with water when doing everyday things. He didn't have a fear of water, only what others intended to do with it. He watched Kai and Sehun whispering to each other cheekily. They were up to something. Kai put his hand in the water, as if to reach for a plate, then threw a handful of water into Chen and Xiumin's face. He cracked up laughing before running away.

Chen wiped at his eyes, while Xiumin yelled, "Ya! What are you doing?" Sehun splashed them again before running off as well. "You little…"

Chen got up. The front of him was wet, then looked around at the two youngest who were daring him to chase them. Chen looked down at the tub and then grabbed a clean bowl. He scooped up the water and threw it at them. Kai teleported away and appeared in front of the tub, splashing them before disappearing again. "That's not fair." Chen complained softly to himself, drenched now.

Baekhyun chuckled at Chen's pout, "Hey! No powers allowed during sparring, physical training, pillow fights and water fights. That has always been our rule!"

"Aw…Baekhyun! Why did you have to tell him that?" Kai complained.

"Because you're cheating!" Lay laughed, "Go get him Chen! He can't use his powers." Chen's eyes widened and grabbed a bowl of water, chasing after Kai and Sehun.

They let it go on for about twenty minutes before Lay called for a stop. "Chen! You still need to rest."

Chen stopped just as he was about to throw water in Sehun's face, "Wae?!"

Suho almost choked at the high-pitched whine. He rubbed his ears but didn't say anything. _Who'd have thought he was capable of whining like that?_ Baekhyun walked up from behind Chen, hugging him. His hand reached up, feeling his forehead, "Yep, maybe a water fight wasn't the best thing for you." Chen turned around, pouting at Baekhyun, "You weren't well before this and now you might get sick. Lay can't heal us from colds and viruses. You need to be careful."

Chen let out a long breath before nodding. He started towards the tent when he noticed the sleeping bags rolled up against the tent. He forgot they had been sleeping outside because of him. He turned around, "You should sleep inside. It's not good to sleep out here all the time." Suho gave a lopsided smile. It was a strange comment coming from Chen, considering it was what he did when he first got here. Chen quickly entered the tent before anyone could say anything.

Xiumin smiled as Chen disappeared into the tent. "You heard him boys. You should move your stuff back in." He turned to Suho, "That includes you."

* * *

Chen got changed into his shorts and t-shirt and dropped on his bed, about to drop off when Lay stopped him. "Your hair is still wet. It's not good for you."

"But I'm too tired to wait for my hair to dry." Chen complained, his eyes drifting closed.

Xiumin grabbed his wireless hairdryer and sat behind Chen, "Just relax." Baekhyun walked into the tent with Chanyeol and his things, helping his best friend move back in.

Chanyeol chuckled at the Scorpion nodding off while his hair was blow dried, "He must be exhausted."

"Yeah, I need to tell Kai and Sehun to go easy on him. He's just as playful as they are." Xiumin smiled as he finished drying Chen's hair and gently laid him down. He covered Chen with the quilt and sat against the head of the bed, staying close to Chen.

"How's his fever?" Lay asked.

Xiumin pressed a hand against his head and nodded, "It's okay. It'll probably break by the time he wakes up."

"He's quite forgiving, isn't he? Like a little kid." Chanyeol sat on his bed, smiling affectionately at Chen.

The rest of the team started trickling in with their things and so Baekhyun told them what happened last night and why there was such a big change in Chen.

"I think if we keep treating him like our little brother, he'll drop that shield without even knowing it." Lay told them. "His distrust in everyone stemmed from his childhood, so we should start from there."

Suho nodded, "You boys keep doing that. I'll drag this for as long as I can." He got up to leave when Baekhyun called out to him.

"Lay meant all of us. He'll only let down the shield if he trusts every single one of us. The last I checked, that included you." Baekhyun said, pointedly.

"He's still scared of me, Baekhyun."

"When he told everyone to bring their things back in, he didn't exclude you." Baekhyun argued.

"And you can't avoid him. You're our leader. You're the one he _needs_ to trust." Xiumin emphasised, "Don't let him down. He needs you." He finished as he ran his fingers through Chen's hair.

"We should go to the cave together." Baekhyun suggested to his leader, "Just the three of us. The lights there don't lie. Chen will see that he can trust you."

"Do you really think a light show will solve this?" Suho sighed, unconvinced.

"It's more than just a light show, Suho." Sehun admonished his leader.

"And my light show brought light back into his childhood, so I do believe it will help." Baekhyun was sure of it. "At least, it will show him that you are the leader, we keep telling him about."

* * *

The next day, Chen finished his breakfast and sat quietly next to Xiumin. Xiumin was right, his fever broke last night and he was feeling much better. When Baekhyun asked him if he wanted to go to the cave again, Chen was very excited but then he told him that Suho was coming along as well and Xiumin wasn't coming. Chen would be fine with Suho going if Xiumin was also coming along.

"Ready to go?" Baekhyun asked, making him jump. Chen turned to Xiumin, unsure about this outing. "Come on, Chen. You were excited when I asked you."

Chen frowned at him and then turned to Xiumin, "Why can't you come?" He looked over at Suho, nervously, "He…he…"

Xiumin smiled at him affectionately, "Baekhyun will take care of you. You trust him, right?" Chen turned to Baekhyun and then nodded, making Baekhyun smiled, "Then you'll be fine. Suho won't hurt you."

Chen was still unsure but reluctantly stood from the table. "Let's go before I change my mind." He grumbled. Baekhyun held his thumb up to Xiumin, telling him not to worry.

* * *

Chen followed Baekhyun's light into the cave. No matter how many times Baekhyun uses his powers, he would never get over the beauty of it. He wished his powers were beautiful like Baekhyun's but his only ever caused him and the people around him, pain. He almost forgot his worries as the lights drew him in. The cavern lit up again and Chen found himself, once again, in awe of its beauty. "Can we come here every day?" Chen dreamed.

Suho grinned at the childish expression. It was innocent and pure, "It's amazing, isn't it?" Chen turned to him, about to nod when he noticed something strange. He remembered what Baekhyun had told him about Suho's aura. It was violet, meaning wise, sensitive and visionary but Suho's aura today was murky. Suho worried. "What's wrong, Chen?"

Chen looked at Baekhyun, "There's something wrong, isn't there?" He asked him.

Baekhyun looked at Suho the same way Chen did. Suho was confused, "What is it?"

"Your aura's different today. It's not as bright as usual." Baekhyun told him.

Suho looked down at his hands and saw it as well. He sighed, "Maybe I'm not feeling my best."

Chen looked at his own hands and saw it was the same colour as before. It hadn't changed much, "Is it because of me?" Chen asked him, "I know our colours reflect our personality and how we feel. Are you not as bright because of me?"

Suho tilted his head, wondering if Chen was even from this planet. Life has been hell for Chen but somehow, he's retained his innocent and caring nature, "Maybe I'm doubting myself because I haven't handled our situation well. I haven't been the leader everyone has needed me to be, especially you."

Chen turned to Baekhyun in distress. He didn't want their leader to change because of him. He knew how much they needed him, "I'm sorry!"

Baekhyun took him by the shoulders and ran his hand up and down Chen's arms, "You didn't do this. Suho will always have moments when he doubts himself. We all do. It's not your fault. The military messed up and they expect Suho to fix it."

"Baekhyun's right. I'm doubting myself because I'm doubting the military. My faith in the military never wavered until now because I can see how badly they have failed you. I know I need to make things right but not for the military. I need to fix things for you." Suho sighed, "I'm sorry I used my powers on you."

Chen shook his head, "I know you didn't do it to hurt me. Xiumin told me about the chip in my head. You couldn't let me leave because it would kill me."

Suho smiled at him proudly, "You're very understanding, Chen. Thank you."

Chen eyes brightened when Suho's colour became vibrant and clear, "Wow! You're so pretty!"

Baekhyun burst out laughing at the compliment, "Careful Chen, Suho might get the wrong idea."

Suho smiled at Chen, "So are you."

Chen frowned and looked down at his hands. His colour was pure white. There was no grey in it this time. "What does this mean?"

"It means, Suho is clear on what he needs to do and you completely trust him to do right by you." Baekhyun grinned, "I don't how someone who has been betrayed so many times, still have the capacity to trust like you do."

"What do you mean trust like me? Doesn't everyone trust the same way?" Chen was confused.

"Unconditional trust is hard." Suho explained, "But your aura is showing us that you trust us unconditionally."

Chen gave them the brightest smile, "My mum taught me that if I can trust someone completely, I would feel very light, like I don't have a worry in the world. It's true!"

Baekhyun nodded. He remembered they had something else to do. If Chen could let down his shield then there was something very important, he needed to disable. He took Chen by the shoulders and lead him over to a large rock, sitting him down. Chen looked at him, completing trusting him but curious about what he wanted. It was rare for Baekhyun to look so serious. "You know about the chip in your head." Chen nodded, rubbing the back of his skull. "Can you concentrate on it?"

Chen frowned, "What do you mean?"

"It's a computer chip. Your power is electricity. Do you think you can short circuit it?"

Suho worried, "I think that's a little dangerous. He could hurt himself."

Baekhyun stood, "Leaving it in there is worse. It's not just that he can't leave a certain radius but it could also be trigger by whoever put it there. It's a time bomb."

"We should do this back at the base with Lay. If anything happens, Lay can help him." Suho argued, "It's safer. I don't want to risk…"

"Aaahh!" Chen was leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"Chen!" Suho knelt in front of him with a hand gripping his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Chen lifted his head, pain clear in his eyes, "I think it's gone." He whispered.

Baekhyun sat next to him, wiping at the sweat with his sleeves, "The chip?" He asked, shocked that Chen didn't even wait for them to stop talking. Chen winced as he nodded. Baekhyun sighed, leaning Chen over to rest against him, "You're crazy."

Suho pressed the back of his fingers against Chen's cheek, "You could've killed yourself." He admonished at the heat he was feeling, "What were you thinking?"

Chen pouted, "Baekhyun said I should shock it, so I did." He said simply.

Baekhyun shook his head, "This unconditional trust thing could be dangerous. We should be careful with what we say."

"Let's get you back to Lay. He can make sure you didn't do any damage. Can you walk?" Suho didn't look impressed. Chen nodded, tiredly. Suho and Baekhyun helped him up, supporting him between them.

* * *

As the three members neared their camp, they heard voices not belonging to the team. Suho paused, holding his fist up to stop Baekhyun and Chen. They were immediately on alert. "Sir, we told you; Chen is doing well here. You don't need to take him away." It was Xiumin.

"It doesn't matter. It's been too long now and we need him back at headquarters." Colonel Raeyon told Xiumin and their team, "I'm disappointed that you weren't able to train him the way I needed him to be but I will need to find another use for him."

"Another use?" Xiumin turned to the man next to the Colonel. He wore a cold smile that hadn't changed since he arrived. It was like that was how his face was naturally. It sent a shiver down Xiumin's spine.

"He's back." His voice was as cold as his smile.

Chanyeol frowned, stepping up to Xiumin, "You're a psy."

The man's eyes sparkled as he looked at them, "Captain Joonwon." He introduced himself.

Baekhyun's eyes widened and quickly grabbed Chen, hissing, "Put up your shield now!"

Chen frowned at him. He's never had control over that shield. It came up and down on its own, "I don't know how to."

"I can feel you. Come out, come out, wherever you are." Joonwon sang.

Baekhyun covered Chen's mouth and shook his head at him. He turned to Suho, who looked ready to kill someone.

Xiumin looked around, then back to the General. "He's not here. You should come back another time, Sir." The men around the camp immediately brought up their weapons. "Have we done something wrong, General?"

"Not yet." General Raeyon answered, warning them, "I'm just waiting for Chen."

Xiumin turned to D.O and gave a short nod. Without even moving, D.O sent all the men's weapons straight to the ground. The soldiers tried to pick them back up but it was as if something were holding them down. "If you're just waiting for Chen, I don't believe weapons are necessary."

Suho smirked. Xiumin was telling the General that it wasn't going to be easy to take Chen.

The temperature around them dropped almost twenty degrees. Xiumin was the reason they were able to stay out here when they first arrived. The heat out here was dangerous for most people but not for Xiumin who controlled ice. A breeze started around them. It wasn't strong. Sehun was sending his own warning.

"Stand down, soldiers." The General warned. These boys were dangerous, but he had Joonwon with him.

"Chen stays with us, Sir. He's one of us." Lay spoke up.

"Those were not his orders or yours." The General growled.

"We don't hand over our own, even to our commanding officers." D.O told him firmly. They've been the military's most dangerous elite team. They followed orders, but everyone knew it was only because they chose to not because they had to.

The General was getting tired of this. "Is he close by?" He asked Joonwon. The psy nodded, "Good. Then flush him out."

"My pleasure." Joonwon stepped forward and smiled evilly.

Xiumin frowned. This wasn't going to be good. He stood at a ready.

Chen's eyes widened as he sensed what the soldier was about to do, "NO!" A static field shot out from his mind as he ran forward.

Baekhyun didn't even get time to stop him, "Chen!" Suho and Baekhyun bolted after him.

Xiumin turned at the call and found Chen running towards him. He felt an energy wave pass through him and looking at the others, could tell they felt it too. Chen stopped next to him, the worry in his bright eyes were clear, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Chen asked urgently.

Xiumin smiled gently and shook his head, "Don't worry. We have it handled." He turned to the General, who was glaring at the Captain.

"What are you waiting for?" General Raeyon hissed.

"I'm trying, Sir." Joonwon was sweating from the concentration. He was trying to send a psychic blast into the teams' minds, disabling their ability to think through the pain but nothing was happening.

Xiumin frowned and turned back to Chen. He could see the thin shine of sweat over Chen's skin, "Are you stopping him from doing something?"

Chen wasn't sure. He could feel his powers working but he didn't know what he was doing, "I think so." He frowned at the pressure in his head. The psy was increasing his powers.

"You can't keep it up." Joonwon grinned at him, sweat running down his face.

Suho glared at the General, "Call him off, General. This is going to be a battle of wills and I can guarantee you, he's no match for Chen."

"I doubt that. Chen never had control of his powers." The General countered.

"That's what I mean." Suho smirked, "Chen doesn't have control of his powers and yet, he is holding up a shield, protecting us. For him, it's a natural reflex. He's had a shield around his mind for over a decade that he didn't know was there until a week ago. Today, he's extended that shield to the rest of us. Think about it, General. How powerful do you think Chen is, compared to your pet?" He turned to Chen, who was still making sure his friends were okay, "Look at him. He's not even looking at you."

The General did look and saw that Chen wasn't focusing on him or his men. He was too busy checking on each member. "Are you all okay?" Chen ran over to the two youngest, "Did they hurt you? Does your head hurt at all?"

Kai smiled at him and shook his head, "We're fine, Chen. Don't worry." But Chen was worried. He knew the psy was trying to disable their minds.

Chen was huffing. He may not be concentrating on his powers but it was still taking a toll on his energy levels, "Stay here and don't move, okay?" Sehun nodded, promising he would do as he was asked.

Chen ran over to Lay and D.O, "Are you okay?"

Lay frowned at Chen, wiping at the sweat beading across Chen's brow, "I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm okay. I shocked the chip. It can't hurt me anymore." Chen gave Lay a tired smile, "Baekhyun told me to."

The General narrowed his eyes and reached into his pocket, pulling out a remote control. Suho's eyes widened, "NO!" He called just as the General pressed it. Everyone swung their heads towards Chen.

Chen looked around, confused, "What?"

Xiumin sighed in a massive relief, rushing up to him and pulling him into his arms, "Thank goodness!"

The rest of the team turned to the General and his men, their eyes burning. "You should leave, General." Suho warned, "Consider this our resignation. Get the hell out of here before we make you."

"You are under my command!" The General growled but took a step back behind Joonwoon who was still trying to break through Chen's shield.

"I was, until you pressed that button. Now, you are the enemy." Suho told him, his voice deadly.

Chen pulled away from Xiumin at hearing those words. It felt warm that Suho would defy everything he believed in for him. "Suho's really angry."

Xiumin nodded. He had tears in his eyes, knowing how much Suho must be struggling right now. "The military save all of our lives at one point. We believe in it more than anything else."

Chen walked up to Suho and tugged at his arm like a little boy. Suho turned to him with angry tears in his eyes. It hurt so much that the military would betray them all like this. "No matter what happens, you'll always have your brothers. They can take away everything you believed in, but not them." Chen turned Suho to the others, who were standing with them now.

Suho nodded, smiling. He turned to Chen, "I have all of you." He ruffled Chen's hair, "You're my brother as well." He frowned at the heat he felt. This mental battle was taking on toll on Chen but he didn't let his worry show.

Suho turned back to the General, eyes determined. He turned his attention to the Psy. "Time to give up. You're no match for Chen. He's barely breaking a sweat." Suho lied, "And you're almost drowning in yours." That was true. The captain was dripping wet. Suho glared at the General, "Psy's are hard to come by, General. Are you sure you want to put yours in a coma?"

The General glared at them before signalling for the Psy to stand down. Captain Joonwon let go. If it weren't for the soldiers, the Captain would've fallen to the ground in exhaustion. "I will be back." The General threatened.

"We won't be here. You'll never find us." General Raeyon knew it was true. These men were only found when they wanted to be found. Suho gave him one last salute, "Goodbye, Sir!"

The team watched as the General and his men boarded their jet and took off. Suho let out a long breath. He felt lighter, which told him he had made the right decision. He turned to Chen, who was smiling at him, tiredly. "He's gone." Chen told him.

Suho nodded but knew they had to leave straight away. "The General will send the air force to take out this base. We need to go now. Pack only what you need."

"Yes Sir!"

Xiumin turned to Chen, "Let's…" His eyes widened in horror as Chen's eyes rolled back and collapsed. Xiumin caught him under the arms. "Chen!" Everyone turned at the call and saw Xiumin lowering Chen to the ground. "Chen!" He tapped his cheek, "Chen, wake up."

Lay dropped to his knees beside Chen and quickly scanned Chen with his energy. Lay frowned, "He's still holding up the shield."

"What? Why?" Kai asked in shock.

Chanyeol looked at his data pad. He was keeping an eye out for an airstrike when he decided to scan for thermal energy around the area, "Because the General's still here." He said of the heat signatures he was seeing in the air above them.

"Son of a bitch!" Baekhyun cursed, then sent up a bright light, making the Jet's stealth mode useless. "There it is!" He said of the reflecting light.

"Chanyeol, take out their tracking systems. Sehun, bring up a sand storm." The team worked as one unit. Kai teleported them away one by one to the caves. Xiumin had Chen cradled in his arms. The boy was as light as he looked. As soon as everyone was in the caves, Baekhyun lead them to an area they had yet to show Chen. It was their underground base, where they kept the Blackbird; their very own ship they used for missions. "Chanyeol, take out the tracking device on the jet before powering her up."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Xiumin laid Chen on the medical bed on the ship. The ship could almost be a second home. It had sleeping quarters, a medical bay, game room and a dining area. This would be their primary home from now on. "How is he?" He asked as Lay connected Chen to the monitors.

"The shield is still up. I think he can still feel the Psy's presence." Lay started up an IV, "This will keep his vitals stable for now but we need to get him as far away from here as possible."

Xiumin nodded. He made sure Chen was secured onto the bed before he ran to the bridge, "Get us out of here."

Chanyeol, their pilot, started up the engines, "We're ready to take off."

"Everyone at their stations."

* * *

The ship hovered in orbit in stealth mode. Nobody was willing to travel any further until they knew Chen would be okay. The medical bed was propped up slightly to assist Chen's breathing. Lay said there were a combination of events that lead to Chen collapsing; he had yet to completely recover from Suho's attack, the shock he gave himself to take out the chip and then the overuse of his shield. They were still in awe of that. Having Chen on the team was a great asset. He made the team that much stronger than they already were. He was a natural protector.

"Is his shield finally down?" Xiumin asked.

Lay nodded, "Yes and I was able to heal the damage he did when he shorted out the chip."

Xiumin grabbed Baekhyun, hugging him fiercely as he was reminded of that, "Thank you so much. If you hadn't told him to short it out, the General would've killed him."

Baekhyun shook as he thought about how close they came to losing Chen. "We almost waited until we got back because we wanted Lay to be around when he tried."

"Yeah, but he's so trusting." Suho shook his head, smiling affectionately at the man in the bed, "He did it just because Baekhyun told him to."

"Yeah, as soon he trusts someone, he doesn't muck around." Baekhyun chuckled.

"Will he be okay?" Sehun asked.

Lay was worried, "His fever is too high and his energy level is too low. He should recover but it could take a few days before he wakes up."

"We'll stay here until he's stable enough for us to find a good place to make our new home." Suho told them.

* * *

Lay was sitting in the chair next to Chen's bed in sickbay. He didn't dare to leave him alone. Something about Chen's energy made him worry. He didn't tell the others because he wasn't sure if it was anything to worry about. If he told Xiumin or Baekhyun, they wouldn't leave the sickbay. The monitors were telling him nothing was wrong but Lay's powers were more intuitive.

Lay felt his eyelids falling when he sensed a disturbance in Chen's brain waves. He shot up in his seat and turned to the monitors. It didn't show anything. Lay hovered a hand above Chen's head. His synapses were firing slowly but randomly. The connections were off. Something was causing havoc in Chen's brain activity. "What's going on, Chen?" He mumbled to himself as he tried to go deeper into the brain. He frowned, a large amount of electricity was firing through his brain, so much so that Lay felt a shock shoot through him, knocking him out of the connection he had with Chen. Lay stumbled back, shaking his head at the static shock. "Shit!" He cursed as he realised what was happening. Chen hasn't let down his shield at all. It was directed inwards, as if keeping it there for an emergency. "Chen, can you hear me? You need to let go of the shield." Lay tapped his comm badge, "Xiumin, Baekhyun, I need you in the sickbay." The door opened immediately, as if they were already outside. It wasn't just Xiumin and Baekhyun but Suho and Chanyeol as well.

"What's going on?" Xiumin stood at Chen's head, placing a cool hand against the hot skin, "His fever's still very high."

"That's not the problem. He hasn't let down his shield. Someone needs to convince him it's not needed. Xiumin, Baekhyun, his trust in you two is the strongest. Talk to him. I think he can hear you. The energy it's taking him to keep that shield on standby is immense." Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun to the other side of Chen. He nudged him when he didn't say anything.

"Come on. You usually can't stop talking."

"I'm usually talking to someone who talks back." Baekhyun hissed at him before turning to Lay. "I don't get it. He's had a shield around his mind for over a decade. It's never hurt him."

"Don't forget the shield he generated today wrapped around all our minds. That same shield in now within his own head. The electricity is going to send his brain into shock." Lay explained, "Someone needs to talk him down, otherwise I need to put him into stasis."

"Can he hear us?" Xiumin asked softly.

"I believe so."

"Talk to him boys." Suho encouraged.

Xiumin brushed aside Chen's hair and gripped his hand, "I'm sorry, Chen. I wish we met earlier. I want to protect the boy who lost his mother too early, who couldn't rely on his father, who was used by the military."

Baekhyun smiled sadly at Chen, "I told you, you weren't a hero like your father. You may not be a hero the way your father was but you are a hero. Your protectiveness is such a natural part of you that you do it without even thinking."

"I've never seen anyone use their powers without even concentrating." Chanyeol remembered how Chen ran around the camp to make sure everyone was okay while the psy used all his energy to break through.

"Like I said, he's a natural."

"Boys, stop complimenting his natural abilities and convince him to bring down that shield!" Lay growled. He could feel Chen's brain activity overloading.

"Chen, we're in a ship. You've never seen it but it's ours. We're in space right now. Far, far away from anyone who wants to hurt us. We're safe." Xiumin promised him, "Everyone is safe."

"Remember when I told you Xiumin's aura colour is light blue. He's honest. You know what he says is always true. Out of all of us, you trusted him first." Baekhyun smiled at Xiumin, "It's because you felt his aura before you even knew about it. I know you would do anything he asked. He's begging you now to let down your shield. We all are."

The door to the room opened. D.O stood there with the two youngest. They knew something was wrong when they went to the bridge and found it empty. "What's wrong?" D.O demanded.

"What's wrong with Chen?" Kai stepped up to the bed.

"He hasn't let down his shield."

D.O frowned, thinking it was the same shield he had up since he was a boy when he realised they were talking about the one he used to protect them all, "That shield is still up?! Why didn't you call us?"

"It's not something our powers can fix."

"But it's something we should all be here for!" D.O growled at Suho, tears threatening to drop, "Don't you think you've kept enough from us? What happens if Chen doesn't make it and we're in our rooms, oblivious!?"

"D.O…" Lay put a hand on the earth elemental's arm, "I was the one who called Xiumin and Baekhyun. Chen's going to make it."

"You don't know that!" D.O dared him to deny it, "We're a family. Have none of you figured that out after today!? You all saw it, you all felt it. That shield he had around us was warm. It was maintained so easily because it was connected to his feeling of family!"

* * *

Chen felt something surrounding him. It was warm. It was protecting him. He felt safe. He remembered this feeling from years ago; his mother's arms around him, protecting him, loving him. This was the same. He was surround by family. He didn't need a shield.

* * *

Lay felt a change in Chen. He turned to the bed. "Excuse me." Lay asked Baekhyun to step aside and held a hand above his head again. He smiled in relief. "Seems like he heard you, D.O."

D.O frowned, "What?"

"The shield's no longer up. He doesn't feel the need to protect himself or us. He knows he can let go because his family is here." Lay let out a massive sigh, "He'll be fine!"

Xiumin felt weak as he leaned over. He placed a hand against Chen's cheek, turning his head towards him, "We're a family."

Suho wrapped his arms around Kai and Sehun, bringing them forward so the entire team surrounded Chen, "I understand now, Chen. All you've ever wanted was a family. You have one now and we will always protect you."

* * *

 **1 day later…**

Chen groaned as he woke up to a migraine. He tried to move his arms but they wouldn't respond. His legs were the same. His effort to move only added to his migraine. He groaned again, louder. Someone laughed. Chen frowned, turning his head. His head seemed to be the only part of his body that would respond to him. He squinted at the man who was smiling at him; Baekhyun and Chanyeol. "Good morning." Chanyeol grinned at him.

"Good morning." Baekhyun smiled, cheekily. Chen's frown deepened. Baekhyun reached over and massaged the crease between the brow, "Stop frowning. It's not good for your headache." Chen huffed at him and turned his head, closing his eyes. He wanted Xiumin. He was curious when he noticed a change in light through his eyelids. When he opened them, the crystal Baekhyun had given him was dangling on a leather chain but it looked different. He turned to Baekhyun, his eyes wide with wonder. Baekhyun sat on the edge of the bed while Chanyeol stood at his feet, "Auras are light. It's why you can only see it at the caves when I'm there. I control light. It's not hard to take a small light from everyone's aura and send it into the crystal. The lights will change according to how we feel." He looped the chain over Chen's head, letting the crystal rest on his chest. He took Chen's hand and laid it over the charm.

"Thank you." Chen's voice was hoarse. He closed his hand around the crystal. It was warm and comfortable. He felt his migraine ease as he drifted off.

Chanyeol smiled, "I think he likes it." He walked around the bed and slapped him on the shoulder, "Good thing too because that's all your power is good for." Baekhyun turned to punch his best friend but Chanyeol was already at the door, sticking his tongue out before flying out the door.

Baekhyun shook his head before turning back. Chanyeol wasn't wrong. Baekhyun's power was passive but he was still useful and he and Lay were the best at hand to hand combat. He placed a hand over Chen's, "My powers don't do much at all but the amount of smiles it has brought to faces, I wouldn't change it for the world." Chen took his hand and hugged it to his chest, turning onto his side. "Whoa." Baekhyun leaned over as he was pulled. He could've taken his hand back but instead climbed onto the bed and stayed with his brother.

* * *

 **One week later…**

Chen sat in his bed in his room on the ship. He shared the room with Xiumin. It turned out they were perfect roommates. They were both immaculate. Chen frowned as he tapped his head. His headache was gone but Chen felt weird; something was missing. He narrowed his eyes and focused his powers on his mind. Nothing. He tried harder. Nothing. One more time then, "OW!" Chen jumped at the shock he gave himself.

Xiumin was outside when he heard the call of pain. He burst into the room. "What happened?"

Chen was rubbing his head, not happy with himself, "Nothing. I just shocked myself."

Xiumin was amused, "In the head? What were you trying to do?"

"I can't get the shield to come back up." Chen sat on the bed, moping, "Why can't I control it?"

Xiumin sat on the bed next to him, "You've had that shield up for too long, Chen. It was there because your subconscious knew you needed the protection. Your mind and your heart know you don't need it anymore."

"But what happens if you need it or Kai or Sehun?" Chen worried, "I want to control it."

Xiumin smiled at him affectionately, "Think of it as a reflex. Whenever you or any of us are in danger, the shield will come back."

Chen huffed, "You don't know that. You're just guessing." He said petulantly.

Xiumin nodded slowly, "You're right. I am just guessing." He got up and walked over to his side of the room. He tapped his comm badge and whispered into it. When he turned back, he wanted to laugh at Chen's pout, looking like the little boy they met not long ago. Xiumin sat on his bed and waited. A sudden scream of pain sounded over the ship, "Aaaahhh…my head!" Xiumin watched as Chen's head came up in a panic and felt his energy shoot through the ship. He rushed forward, grabbing Chen before he got out the door.

"What are you doing? That was Sehun!" Chen fought him but Xiumin was the strongest physically in the team.

"I know. He's fine, I promise." Xiumin grunted as he tried to hold Chen back. The scorpion struggled too much so he let him go and tapped his comm, "Sehun."

" _Yeah? Why did you ask me to do that?"_

Chen paused halfway out the door. Sehun was okay. He turned back to Xiumin, confused and not impressed. Xiumin grinned at him, "Just trying to prove my point." He said into the comm before sitting down on Chen's bed and patting it, "Sit down, Chennie Chennie."

"Stop calling me that!" Chen complained but sat down anyway.

"As soon as you heard Sehun yell, your shield shot out like a bullet. It's a defensive response. You don't need to control it. It's a part of your natural reflexes." Xiumin ruffled Chen's hair. "You like to be in control, don't you?" Chen nodded, "We'll practice together. You still need training in using your physical powers anyway. You'll get better at it." Xiumin shrugged, "You never know. Maybe you will be able to control the shield. Just feel secure in the fact that it's there when you need it."

Chen sighed and then nodded, "Okay."

* * *

Being in space and not having missions meant the team had a lot of time on their hands. They spent it training with Chen. Each member helped Chen in their own way. They told him about their own training experience and what worked best for them. Chen realised that their powers were linked to their emotions. Suho started him small, training him to power small appliances, toys, etc, as well as practicing precision. Chen was a quick study and a hard worker. Xiumin often found him creating small balls of lightning in the middle of the night. Some nights he had to make sure Chen fell asleep before him so that he knew Chen was getting his rest.

* * *

Chen looked up on the ship's computers everything there was to know about his powers. His father was able to create a shield around his team's minds but Chen wanted to know more. There were so many possibilities that the military didn't bother trying with him. He liked the electromagnetic form of his powers. Being able pull or push objects seemed useful but what he really liked was the ability to communicate through their minds. He wondered if anyone was open to that idea. He was fascinated with it because he often found it hard to communicate what he was feeling but being able to show how much he appreciated them through his mind would by-pass the need for words. Chen decided to train himself on it. He didn't even know if he was capable of it.

* * *

Chen waited until everyone on the ship was asleep. It wasn't easy because Xiumin always waited for him to sleep first but he pretended to sleep this time. He wanted to try something. He'd been concentrating on the electricity in his brain when he wanted to say something. He studied the waves and frequency. Chen thought he had a good handle on the waves and wanted to try it but didn't want to invade anyone's privacy, so he thought he would to send a message through to a computer.

Chen narrowed his eyes at the computer screen, asking for the ships replicator to make hot, warm milk. He sat patiently, waiting for the machine to make some milk.

Nothing.

Chen glared at the computer and tried again.

Nothing.

He got up in a huff and walked over to the actual machine and growled at it, "I want milk!" His eyes widened when a cup of milk appeared. He grinned and pulled it out, drinking it and then frowned when the machine made another cup. "Hmm…I only wanted one." He took out the second cup and put it on the bench. Another cup appeared. "Hey!" He complained, "Stop it!" He sighed in relief when it did stop. Then he grinned when he realised the first two times had worked, only it was a delayed reaction. "I can do it!"

"What can you do, Chen?" Baekhyun and Chanyeol walked into the dining area. They wanted a midnight snack. Something they often did. Chanyeol was about to tap the computer when Chen stopped him.

"What do you want?" Chen asked him eagerly. "I'll get it for you."

Chanyeol frowned, amused, "But I'm right here."

"Let me, pleeaaasssse." Chen ended his beg with a pout. It was cute because it wasn't exaggerated. The more comfortable he got with the team, the more expressive he got.

"You can't say no to that." Baekhyun laughed, sitting down at the long dining table, "Get me a toasted sandwich with cheese and I'll take one of those milks." He frowned, realising it wasn't normal to have 3 cups of milk, "Why are there so many?"

"That was a mistake." Chen leaned over and glared at the replicator while Chanyeol brought over a glass of milk for himself and Baekhyun.

"What's he doing? Do you think he's going stir crazy on the ship?" Chanyeol asked, a little concerned for the scorpion.

Baekhyun shrugged as he watched Chen stare the replicator into submission. He sat up when his sandwich appeared. He was watching Chen carefully and didn't see him touch the machine, "How did you do that?"

"He pre-programmed it." Chanyeol denied what he saw.

Chen frowned at him, bringing the sandwich over to Baekhyun, "How would I know what Baekhyun wanted?"

Chanyeol looked unimpressed, "He always has that for a midnight snack."

Chen huffed as he dropped into the seat next to Baekhyun, folding his arms, "I didn't know that!"

Baekhyun smiled at Chen's childish behaviour, "Why don't you do it again from here? Chanyeol, tell Chen what you want."

Chen wondered if he could this far from the machine for it to work, "I'll try." He closed his eyes and sensed the electrical waves in the air, "Okay. What do you want?"

"Razenberry shake with a scoop of ice cream." Chanyeol deliberately chose something he wouldn't eat at this time.

Chen kept his eyes closed and sent the message through the waves to the computer chip in the machine. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked that the shake was already made. He must be getting better at it.

Chanyeol had his mouth hanging open. Baekhyun slowly got up and reached for the shake. It was real. He tried it. It was good. "How…"

Chen grinned, "I can send messages to the machine. It's almost like sending a message between computers."

"You can talk to machines." Chanyeol asked in disbelief.

Chen never thought of it that way, "I guess so."

"That's amazing." Baekhyun said proudly, "You're really getting a hang of your powers and now you're using it in ways we would never have thought of."

"Thank you! I was thinking that we could communicate like this. I can send messages to you, like a communication centre for the team." Chen was clearly excited and didn't know he had just blurted out the real reason for why he was practicing.

"You want to get into our heads?" Baekhyun asked, slowly, cautiously.

Chen paused at Baekhyun's tone, "I wasn't going to do it without your permission." He said quietly.

"You should've told someone before training yourself." Chanyeol admonished him, "For someone who spend most of his life with a shield around his mind, you'd think you would be more sensitive to things like that."

Chen's eyes widened in horror. He never thought of it that way. He only wanted to be able to communicate more effectively with the team. He shook his head, frantically, at them, "That's not what I want to do. I wouldn't do that to you. I wouldn't, I promise!" Chen started shaking as he remembered the pain of psy's trying to get into his head when he was a child. They held him down while a psy or psys tried to penetrate his shield. "I wouldn't do that." Chen jolted and fell off his seat when he felt a hand on his shoulder, "NO! Please!" He scrambled away from the person until he was under the table, shaking in fear.

Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, confused at what had triggered the sudden fear. Chanyeol's expression mirrored his.

* * *

Xiumin, who was asleep, felt a sudden fear take over his entire being. He jolted awake in his bed. Did he have a nightmare? He knew it wasn't. He could still feel the fear. It was real. He looked around and saw Chen's bed empty. He didn't know how but he knew the fear he was feeling was Chen's and he could also see where Chen was. Xiumin didn't know how this was happening but it was almost as if he was in Chen's mind. He bolted out of the room and ran towards the dining room, "Chen!"

* * *

Baekhyun was kneeling, ducking his head so that he could see Chen when Xiumin burst in. "Chen! What's going on?" Xiumin asked Chanyeol.

"I'm sorry." Chanyeol knew what he said triggered the fear, "I didn't mean it the way it came out."

Xiumin sighed and gave his shoulder a squeeze, telling him he understood before looking under the table. "Chen?" A few of Baekhyun's fairy lights were floating around under the table, lighting up the tears running down Chen's cheeks, "Hey, Chen. Can you come out?"

Chen turned his eyes to Xiumin, "I wasn't going to do that."

Xiumin tilted his head, "Do what? Why are you so scared?"

"I only wanted to help." Chen sobbed, "I thought you would be proud. I wasn't going to read anyone's minds. I only want to send messages."

Xiumin looked at Baekhyun, "What's he talking about?"

Baekhyun sighed, "He was showing us how he could communicate with the replicator with his mind. Then he told us that he could send messages to our minds. It sounded invasive and we didn't react well to it." He looked at Chen sadly, "I'm guessing, something traumatic happened when his was younger."

Xiumin suddenly realised what was happening, "The fear I'm feeling right now, is yours." He looked at Chen, "In your panic, you sent out a message to me. You sent me your fears."

Chen tried to get further away from them, "I didn't mean it. I won't use my powers again. I promise. I won't practice anymore."

"That's not what we want and we know you would never hurt us the way you were hurt." Baekhyun held out a hand, "Come back out and we can talk." Chen shook his head, not trusting himself. Baekhyun looked at the charm around his neck. The colours were murky, reflecting how each of them were feeling, "Look at your charm, Chen. The colours have changed. It's because we feel bad about how you are feeling. We didn't mean to bring back the bad memories."

Chen looked down at the charm and saw the angry orange. It was Chanyeol's aura. It wasn't light yellow anymore, "He's angry at me. He thinks I want to hurt him."

Chanyeol gasped at the words. He dropped to his knees, trying to duck his tall form to looked under the table, "I'm not angry at you."

"Yes, you are." Chen denied like a child, "The crystal doesn't lie."

Chanyeol sighed, "The crystal reflects how I feel but it doesn't tell you why I'm feeling that way. I'm angry with myself for accusing you of doing something you would never do. I'm sorry, Chen. I know you would never hurt me."

"Come out, Chen." Xiumin could feel the fear dissipating, "Come here." He smiled when Chen slowly crawled out from under the table and settled himself against him. Xiumin chuckled and sat on the floor, wrapping his arms around Chen, letting him seek comfort there. "Your powers are getting stronger." Chen turned his head and buried his face in Xiumin's chest, not wanting to talk about his powers. They've been trouble for him his entire life. Xiumin felt the thought in his mind and smiled, "You know, you're still projecting your thoughts to me?"

Chen pushed away, turning to Xiumin, shocked and scared, "I don't mean to! I can't stop it. I'm sorry." He smacked his head over and over again, "Stop it. Stop it!"

"Chen!" Xiumin grabbed his wrists while Baekhyun wrapped his arms around him from behind, "Stop. You're going to hurt yourself."

Chen looked at him with tears in his eyes, "Why can't I do anything right? How come I can't control my powers like all of you?"

Baekhyun hugged him tighter, "If we had a psychic element to our powers, we'd be having as much trouble as you."

"And you've never been trained like us." Chanyeol told him, "You'll get better."

Chen shook his head, "I don't want to use my powers. It's dangerous."

"It's not, Chen and it's a part of you. Someone as kind and as thoughtful as you are, can't be dangerous." Chanyeol gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"How about if you only use them as a defense? You'll need them to defend yourself or defend us." Baekhyun knew how to talk to Chen. Anything that will protect his family, Chen would do it.

"I'm not using my powers." Chen stood his ground, "I won't use them."

Chanyeol sighed in frustration. His one comment, said in anger, lead to Chen's doubt in himself. He was doing well with them until now, "I'm sorry, Chen. I didn't mean what I said."

Chen shoved off the hands on him and shot off the ground, "Yes, you did! And it's true! I'm not allowed to go into your minds. It's not right. I could hurt you! I'm never letting myself do that. I'm not using my powers!" With that he stormed out of the room, almost bowling over Suho.

"Chen!" Suho called but the scorpion kept running. He entered the dining area and found Xiumin, Baekhyun and Chanyeol looking depressed and worried. "What happened with Chen?"

Baekhyun sighed before telling his leader exactly what happened.

Suho listened. It worried him that one comment could trigger such a drastic change in Chen. They didn't know enough about Chen to avoid more triggers. "I think we need to get Chen to talk. Otherwise, it'll be like walking on egg shells around him. Anything we say could trigger something."

"Will he tell us after today?" Chanyeol wasn't so sure.

"It won't be hard to tell. His crystal will show us if he still trusts us enough." Baekhyun grinned, "It's almost like a lie detector."

Chanyeol glared at him, "Why did you have to add our auras? He thinks I'm angry at him because of that thing."

Baekhyun winced guiltily, "Yeah…sorry about that, brother. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It was. It still is. Chen doesn't expect us to be happy all the time. It's a perfect gift for him." Xiumin smiled, "He can make us all feel better if we're down. It's in his nature."

"So…we should talk to him."

"He should talk to us." Suho corrected, "He needs to tell us everything." He turned to Xiumin, "Is he still connected to you?"

Xiumin shook his head, "No, it disconnected as soon as he left the room."

"Did he read your mind?"

Again, Xiumin shook his head, "He was only projecting."

Suho nodded, thoughtfully, "He's right about one thing; it's a very useful power to have. It could save our lives out there."

"Let's talk to him in the morning with the whole team." Baekhyun suggested.

"Don't you think that's too soon?" Chanyeol didn't want to push Chen, not after today.

"The sooner the better." Xiumin said, "It's not good for him to keep his powers in."

* * *

Xiumin felt a small tug at his lips when he palmed open the door and found Chen curled up on his bed with Baekhyun's charm shining a light on his face. It made him look even younger than he was. Xiumin knelt in front of Chen and brush the back of his fingers against the tear stained cheeks. It was clear he had cried himself to sleep. "You're so innocent for someone who has felt more than his fair share of pain."

* * *

The team trained in the training room, using their powers to attack and defend. They enjoyed doing this. Chen watched them, uninterested. Suho and Xiumin insisted that he was here. Suho pretty much made it an order; _the team trains together._ Chen didn't see the point of being here when he wasn't going to use his powers. Seeing the team use their powers with precision and control made him feel incompetent.

Suho called for a break. The team, sweaty and hot, grabbed their towel and water. Chen frowned when they sat in a circle. His eyes moved from one member to the other until he reach Xiumin, who sat next to him. Chen sighed, "What?!" He barked at them, "You can't make me use my powers."

D.O grinned. Chen was older than him but he acted like a kid so often it didn't feel like it. "We won't force you, but it would be nice to add your power to the team." He glanced at Chen's charm, it was still bright. "You were really good when you trained with us before."

Chen huffed, "That was before."

"What changed?" Xiumin asked.

Chen glared at him, "You know what changed. I got into your head! I didn't even know I did that! I could've killed you."

"You keep saying that but…"

"You know my powers have killed before!" Chen stopped Chanyeol from making excuses for him.

"It was once and you were a kid."

"Killing once is one too many! He was a monster and I felt like one when I killed him. I won't survive if I killed one of you!" Chen shot up and stormed out of the room.

Suho sighed, "Well, we couldn't expect him to be ready after last night."

"We have plenty of time." Baekhyun told them, "Anyway, we don't want him to use his powers yet. We want to know more about him. I think we should each spend a little time with him…get him to talk to us."

"Or…" Chanyeol looked at each of them before hesitantly suggesting, "We can get him drunk."

Suho shook his head, "That's not…"

"Let's do it." Xiumin interrupted. Suho turned to him in disbelief. Xiumin shrugged, "What? It's the fastest way and if he could just blurt out everything, he'll probably feel better."

"Fine, but you're dealing with the aftermath. I don't want to hear a hangovered Chen." Suho told them pointedly, "I'll be in my room with noise cancelling headphones."

* * *

That night the boys, including Suho, sat around the games room with their beers. Chen frowned at the bottle in his hand, pouting. It turned out, Chen has never had a beer in his life and by the look on his face, he didn't like it, but he kept drinking because Chanyeol said he wasn't a true team member if he couldn't drink. This also meant, Chen felt the effects much quicker than expected. They knew they could start their questions when Chen little out a giggle for no reason. Xiumin smiled affectionately at him. A sick Chen was cute. He had a feeling a drunk Chen would be cuter.

"Hey Chennie Chennie, tell me about your mother." Xiumin asked him, quietly.

Chen turned to him, his eyes wide as he thought about the most beautiful woman in his world, "She loved me so much. She told me stories about magical creatures. She would buy us dessert and then let me have the first spoon. I was her little boy." Chen gave a boyish grin, "She said she never wanted me to stop smiling. My smile was her energy so I wasn't allowed to stop smiling."

Xiumin ruffled his hair, "I bet you tried to keep smiling after she left."

Chen shook his head, "I couldn't. There was no reason to smile. When my father came to the funeral, it made me angry. I was angry because I only recognised him from the pictures mum showed me. He wasn't my dad."

"So, you ran away from him." Baekhyun remembered what Chen told him.

"What happened to you after the monster that kept you tied up, died?" Suho moved them to the time that they didn't know about.

Chen shook his head, adamantly, "I don't want to talk about that."

"You told us that the military used psys to try to get into your mind?"

Chen covered his ears, "NO! I'm not telling. They told me I'm not allowed to tell. They said good little boys who love their mothers would never tell, otherwise they will stop loving us."

Suho clenched his jaw. The bastards used his love for his mother to keep him quiet. "But mothers never stop loving good little boys, no matter what they do." Suho calmed himself enough and spoke gently, "And your mother was the best mother, right?"

Chen nodded, earnestly, "The bestest."

Baekhyun laughed, "The bestest. And the bestest son would never keep anything from his brothers."

Chen let out a long breath, still not sure he was allowed to tell, "You promise mum won't get angry?"

Xiumin hugged him, "Your mum can only be proud of you."

Chen leaned against Xiumin, seeking comfort as he thought about those days, "It's not true that there weren't any other kids." Chen whispered, "There were a lot but they never let us see each other. I only know because one of the times when a psy tried to get into my head, I saw into his instead." He ducked his head ashamed.

The more they learned about the military, the more they realised they were monsters. Chanyeol walked over to Chen and leaned over, tapping the scorpion's chin, "Hey." He whispered. Chen looked up at him, "You've done nothing wrong. They're the bad guys."

Chen looked down at his charm. All the auras were orange now. He glared at each of them, angrily but the pout made it less intimidating, "You made me talk about this and now you're all angry! That's not fair. You can't be angry at me when you asked for it!"

Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh, "I told Baekhyun that crystal causes more trouble than it's worth. I think he should take out our auras."

Chen's eyes widened, "No!" He held it to his chest, protectively, "It's mine! You can't take it!"

"Well you keep accusing us of being angry at you!" Chanyeol complained.

"You are!" Chen argued, childishly.

"I'm not!" Chanyeol yelled back.

"Then why are you yelling?!" Chen yelled even louder.

While the screaming match was going, the team were hold their stomachs laughing. Chen looked around at them, then huffed, "You're all mean!"

After finally getting their laughing under control, Suho sobered. "Alright, everyone. Let's get back on track."

Chen looked down at his crystal and smiled when the auras were back to normal. "Nope. No more about me. Your colours are normal again. I want it to stay that way."

Xiumin rolled his eyes at Chen, "I promise you, Chen, no matter how many times the colour changes, it will always revert back to our colours."

"Tell us what happened after you found out about all the kids."

Chen shrugged, "They stopped trying to get into my head because they were worried, I guess. They made me use my powers on dummies. I used it a little but I didn't do much. I didn't dare to."

"And that's why they sent you to us. They know of your potential but couldn't get you to use it." Suho smiled at him, "You have good instincts, Chen."

"You know, you and Chen have opposite powers but I bet you can also do some pretty cool things together." Baekhyun said thoughtfully.

"No!" Chen bit at him.

"Come on. It's like me and Suho. Watch what we can do." Baekhyun nodded to Suho. Suho smiled and create water droplets above them.

"Cool!" Chen smiled dopily up at the raindrops.

Baekhyun sent up little fairy lights into the water droplets. He laughed when Chen called again, "COOL!"

"I bet it would look even cooler if you connected the droplets with electricity." Xiumin nudged him.

Chen deflated and shook his head.

Suho looked over at Sehun and Kai, nudging his head at Chen, silently telling them to help convince him. "I think it would look like the lights on Saviour Day." Saviour Day on Exo was the day all citizens string lights over their roofs to shine up to the members of the military who have given their lives to keep them safe. The satellite footage of that night were always breathtaking no matter how many times you've seen it.

"I've never seen them."

Xiiumin sighed, "Is it because of your father or that you've never been shown them."

Chen shrugged, indifferently, "Maybe both."

"Can you do this for yourself?" Lay asked quietly, "I think you deserve to see them. I know your father wasn't a hero to you but he was a true hero, just like you are. You should let go of your resentment for him. Create the lights in this room…for him." Chen listened to Lay. He wished he could express himself the way Lay could.

Baekhyun gave a teary smile, "Lay's right. In the short time I met your father, he told me about you." Chen's eyes widened, "He said we were the same age and that we could be good friends. He was right."

"Your father may not be a part of your memory but you were clearly a big part of his." D.O smiled.

"Your father's powers are in you." Xiumin hugged Chen, hearing the hitch in his breathing, "Let go of your anger and show him that you have a family now."

Chen looked up at the droplets of light, tears running down his face as he remembered his father. He closed his eyes, remembering the words other people used to describe him; hero, saviour, guardian angel, protector. He didn't realise he was standing up, that electricity was building in his fingers.

Xiumin smiled. His powers came so naturally and yet, he constantly denied them.

Lightning sparkled through Chen's eyes as he lit up the electrical waves between the droplets, creating a blue and white light show above them all. For the first time in his life, Chen saw the beauty of his power. It created connections, links…like the connection between family members.

Chanyeol stepped up to Chen, looking up at the light show, "How can someone who can create such beauty…" Chen looked up at the tall pyro, "Be dangerous?"

Chen smiled at his kind eyes and leaned against him as he enjoyed the sparkling light show, "Mum…dad…can you see this? It's for you, from my new family. I love you."

They watched the light shown together until Chanyeol felt Chen nodding off, while standing. Chanyeol caught him as his legs gave out, waking him up. "I think it's time for you to go to bed."

Chen blinked at him owlishly, "You're not angry anymore."

Chanyeol smiled, "I'm never angry at you, remember that."

Chen looked around the room, pouting, "Why is everything spinning? I don't feel good."

Xiumin chuckled, turning Chen to face him, "You're drunk. Let's get you into bed." He lead Chen out of the room, walking him back to their quarters.

"I always drink a lot. This never happens."

Suho chuckled, walking on the other side of Chen, "You've never had alcohol."

Chen narrowed his eyes at Suho, "Did you poison me?"

"No!" Suho laughed, "But it might feel that way in the morning."

Chen's eyes widened, accusingly, "You did poison me!"

"If I did, you wouldn't wake up in the morning." Suho cracked up at Chen expression.

"Xiumin! I might not wake up. I'm not sleeping!" Chen turned around about to head back to the games room but Baekhyun stopped him and turned him around.

"How is it possible for you to grow up and not know about alcohol?!" Baekhyun shook his head, "Surely you've heard it from other soldiers when they sent you on missions."

"I don't talk to anyone! Everyone's mean! I ignore them all!" Chen's got higher and higher with each complaint, "They just tell me to short-out the computers and send me away!"

"Okay, okay, okay…" Suho rubbed his ears, "Everyone is mean to you but we're nice and I didn't poison you." It was easier to agree with Chen, "Can you lower your pitch a decimal, please?"

Chen dropped his shoulders and head, pouting as he walked into his room, "Everyone's mean. If I don't wake up tomorrow, I'm going to haunt all of you." He dropped into his bed on his stomach and was asleep in a second.

"Wow…who'd have thought he could be such a brat." Suho let out a long breath, "I am going to stay well away from him in the morning. Please keep him away from the bridge and my quarters…and wherever else I may be."

Xiumin looked at him through lidded eyes, "I'll check where you are before I go anywhere." He said sarcastically.

"That'll be great, thanks." He said slapping his shoulder before leaving the room. Xiumin just shook his head and turned out the lights.

* * *

Xiumin was in the bathroom when Chen woke up. Chen sat in his bed, rubbing his head. He let out a huff at the headache. He promised himself to never drink whatever they gave him last night. It just made him feel crap for hours. Although, he did feel lighter. He smiled at the memory of the light show he, Baekhyun and Suho had created.

Chen looked up when the bathroom door opened and pouted at his brother. Xiumin was towelling his hair when he saw Chen's sulky expression. He bit his lip, stopping himself from laughing. "How are you feeling, Chennie Chennie?"

Chen frowned at him, "I don't like it."

Xiumin laughed, "Don't like what?"

"The drink! Suho poisoned it!" Chen complained.

"Suho didn't poison it, although some people do consider it poison." He sat down next to Chen, "You'll get used to it and then you'll enjoy it as much as we do."

"How come you don't look like how I feel?" Chen rubbed his head again, making his hair stick up.

"I felt like you when I first tried it. Now, I know my limits." Xiumin nudged him, "Go wash up and I'll get you something for your hangover."

Chen wrapped his arms around his brother, smiling, "Thank you!"

* * *

Suho walked into the dining room and found Chen with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Xiumin had taken over for him at the bridge, telling him to take a break. Clearly, Xiumin thought it would be fun for him to be in the same room as Chen. Chen narrowed his eyes at him before turning his head away like a petulant little boy. Suho shook his head and went to the replicator, before he could press a button, a cup appeared. It was his favourite hot caffeinated drink. He pulled it out and tasted it. It was perfect. "How?" He turned back to the others and found Chen grinning at him.

"Xiumin told me you liked that."

"But how did…" Suho gave a small smile, "You used your power."

Chen nodded, "Even though you tried to poison me yesterday, I'll forgive you."

Suho rolled his eyes, exasperated at Chen's persistence while Chanyeol and Baekhyun burst out laughing, "It's called alcohol. Look it up." He sipped his drink, "I'm impressed, Chen. You have very good control over your powers. You just needed to believe it."

"All of you showed me how to believe." Chen smiled.

Suho sat down opposite Chen, "What else can you do?"

Chen shrugged, then looked at the others hesitantly, "I guess I can project messages into your minds…" Then he quickly shook his hands at them, "But I can't read your mind. It can only go one way." Chen desperately explained, "I can't read minds, I promise!"

Baekhyun gave his shoulder a squeeze, "We believe you, Chen. And even if you could read minds, we know you would never invade our privacy like that."

"Yeah, and I think that's a pretty useful power. If you can project images and messages, at least we don't need to fully rely on our comms." Chanyeol encouraged Chen, "Try it on me." Baekhyun smiled. He knew Chanyeol was making up for his initial reaction to Chen's use of his power.

"Are you sure?" Chen still worried, "I haven't practiced."

"No time better than the present." Suho gently prodded.

Baekhyun smiled at the charm around Chen's neck, "Take a look at your charm, Chen."

Chen looked down and saw that Suho, Baekhyun and Chanyeol auras were white. White light meant trust. They trusted him. Chen looked up, his confidence growing. He nodded, "Okay."

Chanyeol grinned and turned his chair to face Chen, "I'm ready."

Suho wanted to laugh at Chen's expression as he concentrated. His tongue came out of the side of the mouth, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed.

Baekhyun moved around the table to watch the show. Sweat ran down Chen's temple. _Looks like it's harder than controlling a machine._

Chanyeol was beginning to doubt it would work when… _Thank you._ He jumped out of his seat. Chen's voice was so clear, it was as if he had spoken right into his ear but his mouth hadn't moved. _Thank you for trusting me to do this._ Chanyeol got over his shock and smiled proudly at the scorpion, "Thank you for trusting us enough to let down your shield." Chanyeol answered him. Chen grinned as he threw his arms around Chanyeol. "It worked." Chanyeol told him and the others.

"What did Chen say?" Suho asked, curious.

Chanyeol pulled back and looked Chen in the eyes, "He said, 'Thank you for trusting me enough to do this.'"

"We do trust you," Suho told him, "So much that I want you to practice reading our minds as well."

Chen shook his head frantically, "No! I don't want to."

"Sending messages to us is useful but only you can send messages. If one of us are in danger, we can't get a message out to you." Everyone on the team knew how to get Chen to look at situations from another angle, "I know you can find a way to do this without reading our thoughts."

Chen huffed and pouted, "It's not easy sending a message. Now I need to receive them as well. I'm not a walkie-talkie!" His face suddenly brightened, "Walkie-talkie." He whispered to himself, "I can't receive your message until you press the button. Maybe you can only send a message through the connection I make with you." Chen frowned, "Would that work?"

"How can we send a thought through the connection?" Baekhyun asked.

Chen shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know."

"How do you send a message?"

"I send the message through an electrical wave. It's harder over distance because I need to send through a lot of waves but with Chanyeol in front of me, I can see the waves that are connecting us both." Chen explained, making the others smile, "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"It takes a lot of discipline to do what you're saying." Suho was proud, "We should work together. Send us messages and maybe we can feel the connection you make and send a message back."

"Yeah, we can't expect you to do all the work." Baekhyun grinned at Chen, "You're going to be our communication post."

Chen narrowed his eyes at the cheeky Luminant, "I'm going to regret this." He mumbled, making them laugh.

* * *

 **Two days later…**

Chen frowned as he opened his heavy eyes. He looked around the room. This wasn't his and Xiumin's room. It was sickbay. _What happened?_ Chen pushed himself up when his head felt like it was going to explode.

Lay, who was at his desk, jumped up at Chen's groan. "You're awake." He tapped at the monitors, "Don't get up. You've overused your energy." Chen groaned again. Every time he moved, the hammer in his head pounded his brain. Lay laid a hand against his forehead and sent healing energy through his mind, "I can only make you more comfortable. You need to stop pushing yourself." Chen looked at him worried. He told Suho he would make the communication go both ways. Lay smiled sympathetically at him, knowing what he was thinking. "Your mind communication thingy isn't a priority. We have comms. Suho said you're not allowed to use your psychic abilities until he says you can." Chen's eyes widened, "And you're not allowed to be alone." He huffed at the last part. Lay chuckled, "It's for your own good." He sighed, "You know. I don't like not being able to heal my brothers. The others get injured and I can heal them easily but your physiology around your mind is so different that it makes focusing on the problem hard." Chen frowned and looked down at his chest, looking for his charm to see how Lay was feeling but it wasn't there. He started to panic when Lay laid a comforting hand on his chest. "Baekhyun took it back as punishment for not taking care of yourself." Tears started filling Chen's eyes. The crystal felt like it's been with him for decades. It was a part of him, "Hey." Lay called gently, brushing away a tear that rolled down the corner of Chen's eyes, "He'll give it back. He said he didn't want you worrying because of the colour changes. I think he's started to regret putting our auras in it." Chen studied Lay, trying to sense the healer. Lay smiled sadly, "You were looking for the crystal because you wanted to know how I was feeling. To tell you the truth, I'm not feeling good. Your shield is down but your powers are still disrupting mine. I'm worried that the more you use your powers mentally, the less I'll be able to heal."

Chen smiled at him and held Lay's hand to his cheek, "You make me feel better." He whispered tiredly, "Your energy is warm. Your hands are cool. You're kind. I can feel you."

Lay gentle caressed Chen's cheek with his thumb. Chen didn't need the crystal. He could feel his brothers' auras, "Don't talk. Xiumin will be here soon." Chen smiled brightly at his best friend's name. "Don't get too happy. Xiumin's not impressed with you. He went ballistic when he couldn't wake you."

Chen bit his lip, nervous now. He didn't want to see Xiumin angry. His hand unconsciously went to his chest where the charm should've been. He really wanted his crystal now. "Is he really angry?" Chen asked, softly.

Lay opened his mouth to answer when he heard the door to sickbay hiss open. He turned and smiled at Xiumin, who wasn't smiling but looking very relieved to see Chen awake. Lay turned to Chen and smiled, "I'll leave you to talk." He turned back to Xiumin, "He just woke up. Go easy." He warned in a whisper so Chen couldn't hear.

Xiumin sat on the stool next to Chen's bed. Chen didn't say anything. He only looked at him with his innocent eyes, waiting to be reprimanded. Xiumin sighed and brushed Chen hair back, rest his hand against Chen's brow, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Chen pouted, "I'm sorry. Don't be angry at me, please."

Xiumin chuckled. Chen was no different from a 7-year-old boy with him, "I'm never angry at you. I get angry at a situation and I get angry for you but I won't get angry at you. And if by some small chance that I do, it's only because I worry about you." Chen smiled sweetly at him, thinking he was off the hook, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to forget about what you did." Chen's smile turned back into a pout, "I've already spoken with Suho. You're only allowed to train for an hour at a time and you're never to train alone." Chen puffed at his hair, not happy about being restricted. "Don't make me get angry at you."

Chen spun around, his eyes wide in disbelief, "You said you'll never get angry at me!" He complained, "You said it two seconds ago. How can you forget already?"

The door to the sickbay opened, "Wah! Chen, you must be better. I can hear your whining from our room." Baekhyun was rubbing his ear while Chanyeol was grinning.

"How are you feeling, Chennie?" Chanyeol stood on the other side of Chen's bed, "Is Xiumin lecturing you?" Chen nodded at him, clearly not happy. "Ah…" He chuckled at his cute friend, "Xiumin-ah, leave Chennie alone. He only just woke up."

"Yeah, Xiumin, come on!" Baekhyun backed his best friend, "The ship's windows are going to crack if you make him whine any louder."

Chen folded his arms in a huff, "You're all picking on me."

Chanyeol shook his head, "I'm not. I'm on your side." He laughed when Chen shuffled over to his side and leaned against him. Chanyeol wrapped his arm around Chen's shoulder, his other arm coming around his front, holding Chen against him, "You two can go now."

"Don't spoil him." Xiumin pointed at Chanyeol, warning him.

Chanyeol looked at him, incredulously, "You two treat him like he's seven!"

"That's because we met the seven-year-old." Baekhyun smiled affectionately at Chen, who was drifting off. He would always treat Chen like a child because that was how he acted with them. "Look at him. He's a big kid."

Xiumin chuckled at Chen's soft snoring. "Lay told me to take it easy on him. I guess that's why. He tires easily."

"Yeah." Baekhyun sighed at the soldier who was only a few months younger than him, "We need to be careful with what we say. Every time we ask Chen to do something, he does it without thinking about the consequences. Mentally, he's still a kid. When we tell him something, we need to be specific."

Chanyeol gently pulled his arm out from under Chen and covered him with the blanket, "I think you two worry too much. Don't treat him like a kid. It's not what he wants."

"He is a kid." Xiumin insisted. He, Lay and Baekhyun would always feel this way about Chen.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes at them, "He'll definitely be one if you two don't start seeing him for the soldier he is."

"You don't understand." Baekhyun sighed.

Chanyeol shrugged, "I don't but I don't need to. Chen can look after himself."

* * *

 **Two weeks later…**

It has been two weeks of not using his psychic abilities. Xiumin and Baekhyun refused to let him practise and they spoke to him as if he was a child. They gave him step by step instructions and during physical training, they would jump in front of him. After a week of being wrapped in a blanket, Chen stopped talking to his two closest friends. He even slept in the spare room by himself. At meal times, he sat with the younger members who treated him as they always did. Even D.O treated him like a member of the team rather than an adopted child.

Finally, after keeping everything to himself, Chen exploded when Suho called them to train, "No!" He outright refused to follow his orders.

"Chen?" D.O frowned at him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not training with them." Chen growled, "What's the point? They don't let me do anything. Have you seen a lightning bolt during training? No, you haven't!" He didn't give anyone a chance to answer, "I haven't used my powers in weeks. They won't let me!" Chen glared at Xiumin and Baekhyun.

"That's because you don't know how to pace yourself." Xiumin argued back.

"How can I learn to pace myself when you don't even let me use my powers? I'm supposed to be learning how to control my powers! All of you said you'd help me."

"We are helping you. You can't just use your powers whenever you want to. You need to know when to use it." Baekhyun tried to stay calm.

"I'M NOT USING IT!" Chen was huffing now. Angry tears started to sting his eyes, "The military forced me to use my powers and you're suppressing it! You're the one who told me I shouldn't be scared of using my powers and now you're stopping me! Make up your mind!"

"Chen…" Xiumin stood, seeing his little brother losing control of his emotions. He knew he was handling the situation badly, but he couldn't help his need to protect him from everything, even his own self.

"You won't even give me back the crystal!" Chen yelled, sobbing now, "It's mine. Mum gave it to me when she died!"

Baekhyun gasped, remembering that was what he had told Chen when he gave it to him. In Chen's memory, the crystal was a part of his mother. He had forgotten that the crystal was more than just their auras. It was the memory of his mum. "I'm sorry, Chen." He reached into his pocket to take out the crystal he always kept close, about to give it back to Chen when the boy continued his rant that was pent up for two weeks.

"I want to get off this ship! It's not home! Let me off!" Chen turned to Suho, "I don't want to be here anymore!"

Suho sighed, "We'll head down in a couple of days. The military has stopped scanning for us but…"

"I want to get off now!" Chen slammed his hands on the table, breathing heavily; lightning sparked in his eyes as he sent messages to the ship's computer, _"We_. _Are._ _Landing!"_

"Chen!" Xiumin called, shocked as the ship started moving.

The team looked around the room. The ship was heading towards the planet. Suho frowned, "Chen, stop this. You can't…" The ship rumbled, picking up speed. "Chen!" Chen wasn't listening. It was as if he was in a trance. "Damn it! Kai, Sehun, Lay…go to the bridge and see if you can get control back."

"Yes sir!" Kai took them by the shoulders and teleported them to the bridge.

* * *

The three soldiers rushed to their stations and frantically tapped at the monitors. "No response." Kai tried to reboot his computer but nothing worked, "A-ssiii, he's good."

"Keep trying. Chen doesn't know this ship well enough to fly it. We need to get control back before he sends us into the ground." Lay ordered frantically.

"I'm not sure we can get control…" Sehun started to drift, "Oh crap…he took off gravity control."

"Hold onto something and keep trying!" Kai called as he tapped his comm, "Suho…"

* * *

"I know." Suho called back. He nodded to D.O who used his powers to bring the team back to the floor. "Xiumin, talk to him."

"Chen…"

Chen turned to his brother, tears running down his cheeks, "Why don't you trust me?" He asked, breaking all their hearts, "Are you scared of me?"

Xiumin shook his head, feeling Chen's insecurities from when he was a boy; no one to trust, no one who trusted him, everyone's fear of him… "I'm sorry, Chen. Of course, I trust you. I'm sorry I made you feel like I don't."

"We're not scared of you, Chen. We're scared of losing you." Baekhyun walked up to him and showed him his crystal, "I was keeping this from you because I didn't want you to see how scared I was." Chen looked at the crystal. Baekhyun and Xiumin's auras were bright yellow. "I'm sorry. It's not mine to keep. He picked up Chen's hand and placed the crystal in his palm, "It's yours."

The ship shook as it entered the planet's atmosphere, making them stumble, but D.O ensured they didn't fall.

Chen looked at the crystal in his hand and pulled back his powers. He turned to Xiumin. He didn't know how scared Xiumin was, "I'm sorry."

Xiumin nodded, "Me too." He pulled Chen into his arms, "I'm sorry."

Chanyeol smacked Baekhyun over the head, "I told you to talk to him! Idiot!" He hissed. Baekhyun rubbed the back of his head but didn't retaliate. Chanyeol was right; he should've spoken to Chen.

Suho walked up to Chen and Xiumin, putting a comforting hand on Chen's back, "I'm sorry we made this ship feel like a prison. You're free to do whatever you want here."

Chen pulled back and wiped away his tears, "I didn't mean to take over the ship like that. I was angry."

Suho chuckled, "That's quite a trick."

Chen ducked his head, ashamed of his actions, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're seeing the potential for your powers. We were wrong to stop you from training." Suho didn't agree with Xiumin and Baekhyun but he didn't stop them either, "We should've supported you."

"Yeah, you're not a kid. You're a soldier." Xiumin wrapped his arm around Chen's shoulder, "You're my brother."

"You're our brother." D.O corrected. They felt the ship leveling out and the systems come back online.

* * *

"Is Chen okay?" Lay asked, knowing that they either convinced Chen to let go or he's unconscious.

* * *

"I'm okay." Chen answered, "I'm sorry." He said again, this time into the comm.

* * *

"As long as you're okay." Lay told him affectionately.

* * *

Xiumin sighed and pulled Chen into his arms again, rubbing his hand up and down his back, "It's going to be okay. From now on, we talk about everything, okay?" Chen nodded tiredly against his shoulder, "I won't hide from you and I won't hold you back, but you need to listen to Lay." Again, Chen nodded.

"And don't do everything we say. We don't blindly follow orders on this team." Baekhyun told him, "I know you trust us but don't always take our words literally." He ruffled Chen's hair, smiling at the sleepy scorpion, "I'm really sorry I took your crystal." Chen lifted his head and blinked owlishly at Baekhyun. He pulled away from Xiumin and draped himself over Baekhyun, wrapping his arms around him. Baekhyun grunted as he took half of his weight. He laughed, "I'm not sure if you're hugging me or using me as a bed."

"Take him back to his room." Suho ordered, "As in your room, Xiumin. Not the damn spare room."

Xiumin smiled and nodded, pulling Chen from Baekhyun. They walked him back.

"Lay, if you can find a place to land and keep us hidden then do it. It's time we decide what to do." Suho spoke into his comm, "I'm on my way to the bridge."

* * *

Chanyeol hacked into the military headquarters main computer. Suho had a plan for them; a new on-going mission. They would look into the military's missions and investigate it. If it was legitimate, then they will let it continue but any missions that would put civilians in danger, they would intervene. They would also need to earn credits, meaning they could take on missions for credit, however, they had guidelines for those missions. The main rule was; do no harm.

Chanyeol sat in his quarters studying the file he downloaded from the military database earlier today. It was a recon mission. They wanted to find out as much as they could about different mission the military completed over the past couple of years. He found a file labelled, Baegon. It was highly classified and large. "You've been trying to get into that folder for two days now. Still nothing?" Baekhyun's best friend was a computer whiz. He had yet to find a code he couldn't crack.

"It has to be important for them to put this much security on it." Chanyeol growled, "I'm not going to give up though."

Baekhyun sighed, "Does Chen know you have this?"

Chanyeol shook his head, "I don't know for sure that it's about his father. I don't want to drag up bad memories. He only just made peace with his father's absence."

Baekhyun chuckled, "When did you grow up?"

"When are you going to?" Chanyeol jibed.

Baekhyun grinned, "Don't stay up late tonight, you haven't…"

"GOT IT!"

Baekhyun put a hand to his heart at the volume, "Farout! A little warning next time." He pulled up a chair, "What is it?"

Chanyeol scrolled through the files, "They're all video files. It dates back over decades."

"Open one."

"Okay." Chanyeol clicked onto a random file.

Baekhyun recognised the man straight away, "Taeyang." He gasped.

Chanyeo's eyes widened, "This is Chen's father?" Baekhyun nodded.

" _So this is the 15_ _th_ _video."_ Chen had the man's smile and eyes. _"How old are you today? Three years old? Did you get…"_

Baekhyun stopped the video, "We need to tell Chen. There are over 20 video files here and I'm guessing they're all addressed to Chen."

Chanyeol bit his lips, "How do you think Chen will take this?"

Baekhyun shook his head, "I don't know. I'm scared as well but this is too big to keep from him. Besides, he has us." He gave Chanyeol's shoulder a squeeze, "We'll tell Suho in the morning."

* * *

Chen was bored waiting at the dining room table. Suho asked the team to meet here but it's been fifteen minutes now and he was still alone. Chen growled and focus; _if you don't arrive in three seconds I'm going send naked pictures of all of you to every computer I can reach! One…two…thr…_

"Hold on!" Baekhyun came rushing into the room, "Calm down. I'm here."

Chen pouted, "Why did you take so long?! Where are the others?" Baekhyun could tell he was ready to send another warning when…

"We're here!" D.O and Kai skidded in with Sehun, "Don't send…" D.O looked at Chen suspicious, "Why do you have naked pictures of us?"

"I don't, but it's my mind so I can do whatever I want."

Sehun smirked cheekily at him, "Does that mean you picture us naked all the time?"

"NO!" Chen protested and folded his arm, smugly, "I can make you look however I want, you can have small…"

"Alright! I apologise for being late." Sehun threw in the white flag. He shook his head at how devious Chen could be.

"Feet." Chen finished his sentence innocently. D.O and Kai burst out laughing. Baekhyun couldn't bring himself to laugh with the others. He knew what they were meeting about. "What's wrong?" Chen asked Baekhyun, who never gave up a chance to tease his friends.

Baekhyun gave him a small smile, "I'm fine. Can you remember something for me?" Chen nodded, "We're all here with you."

Chen frowned, amused, "I always remember that!"

"Good."

* * *

Chen liked controlling computers and sending messages but he didn't like the computer that was in front of him. Xiumin put a hand on his arm, feeling tantrum coming on, "You need to do this, Chen. We all need you to do it."

"But why can't you tell me what this is?" Chen complained.

"Because, if we tell you, you might never do it but you'll always know it's here and it'll eat you up." Xiumin's eyes were already wet and he'd never seen the videos. "Press…" The video started itself. "Chen." Chen shook his head at Xiumin, not sure what happened. He didn't use his powers…he didn't think he did. Lay was right. Chen's power had a mind of its own at times, sensing what Chen needed.

Chen's eyes widened at the person on the screen, "Dad?"

" _Hi Chen."_ His father's eyes were watering but he had the biggest smile on his face. _"What does a first-time dad say to his son on the day he came into this world? Let me tell you about your name. My name is Taeyang and your mother's is Moon and so we thought a name that meant morning star would be perfect; Chen. Just like your name, you're going to bring light to every single day of our lives. Another reason your mum insisted on the name is because, even when I'm not with you, I can watch the sunrise and feel closer to you and at night, I look up in the sky and feel your mother. And…_ "In the day time, your warmth shines over us, giving us light and warmth until I can return home," Chen recited the words his mother told him whenever he asked about his father. He paused the video, "Where did you get this?" Chen asked Suho, who was standing behind him.

"Keep watching, Chen." Suho nodded to the computer.

Chen hesitated before pressing play. _Taeyang giggled like a little boy._ Yixing smiled. Chen inherited a lot from his father. _"I'm a father!" He burst laughing and called out to someone off camera, "Boys! I'm a father! I'm a father!" Then the screen was filled with eight other members, piling on top of Taeyang. "Alright, alright! Get off me and introduce yourselves to your God son."_

"God son?" Chen gasped.

" _Hi Chen! I'm your dad's Captain and best friend, Minho!" A shower started and stopped, "I control water."_

" _I'm the youngest. Ray. Power of fire!"_

" _Jason! Power of light!"_

" _Junyoung. Power of Earth."_

" _Sunghyeon. Healer."_

" _J.D! Power of ice."_

" _Don! Wind!"_

" _Yeah, he's full of it!" Don shoved the man who was the last to introduce himself, "I'm the prankster, Hyun! Teleporter."_

" _We're your father's brothers." Minho wrapped his arm around Taeyang, "And as your Godfathers, our job is to keep Taeyang safe so that he can come home to you. That is our promise and our long-term mission."_

" _I can't wait to meet you, Chen."_ End of video.

"Their team is exactly like ours." Suho smiled, "Their powers, the brotherhood…their motivation to protect their Scorpion." Chen looked up at him, tears in his eyes, "Your dad's team was his family as well."

The more Chen watched the videos that proved how much his father loved and missed him, the more he hated him. The last video was the most heartbreaking. He saw how tired his father was and how hopeless he was feeling. " _Chen, you turn seven today." Taeyang started crying, "Seven years of your life that I've missed. The only hope I have is that you know I love you and your mum. Your mother's letters and your drawings have got me through these years, but I must admit, I need more. I'm coming home, Chen. One last mission. I promise." He reached over to turn off the recording._

"NO!" Chen froze the screen, well…his mind did. "No!" Tears kept running down his cheek as he reached for the screen. "This is the last one." He cried. "This is the last time…" Xiumin reached to turn the computer off but Chen grabbed it, hugging it to his chest, "No! No, don't take him away, please!"

"Oh…Chen." Suho squeezed his shoulder.

"He loved me." Chen sobbed, "He loved me every single day."

"He did and his team loved you." Xiumin ran his hand up and down Chen's back, soothingly.

"I told him I hated him. That's the first and last words I've ever said to him!"

"He still loved you." Yixing turned away from Chen's distress.

"But he doesn't know that I love him." Chen turned to Xiumin, begging him to believe him, "I did, I really did!"

"I'm sure he knows."

"How? I never told him. I never told him! I only told him that I hate him!" Chen started gasping, "I hated… him since…mum died. I…hated him for most of…my…life." His power suddenly shot through him and shorted out Chanyeol's computer. Chen stared at the black screen, "No…" He tapped at the smoking keyboard, "No! Come back! Come back!"

"It's okay, Chen." Chanyeol pulled his hands away from the computer, "It's on the ship's computer. It's not gone." As if the ship had a mind of it's own, the holographic projector came on and Chen's father from the first video was smiling at them again. Chen stared at the image, reaching out to touch him but his hands went through the hologram.

"Chen…" Xiumin was sensing an unhealthy habit coming on, "Chen, he's not…"

"I want to hug him." Chen sobbed, "I want him to hear me say I love him. Why didn't they let him come home? Just once…" Chen grew angry. The military had been ruining his life since he was born, "Why didn't we receive these recordings? Mum never showed these to me. I told him…" Chen was losing control of his emotions. "They ruined my life…They made me think…I hate them. I HATE THEM!"

Suho looked outside the windows of their ship. Thunderstorm rolled it. Lightning flashed. "Chen…" He warned, then turned to Lay. Lay nodded, reaching into his pocket, ready. "Chen, you need to calm down."

"He was my dad! They had no right!"

The team gasped as Chen's powers projected his feelings into them, "Chen." Baekhyun had to grip the table to steady himself as he lost his breath, "God, is this how he's feeling? Lay!"

Lay nodded, breathless. He pulled out the needle, approaching Chen but Chen saw it and backed away, "What's that?"

"It'll help you relax."

"I don't want to relax. I want them to pay!" Chen's eyes burned. The team jumped at the loud bang of thunder. Outside a tree caught fire.

Suho drew in the rain, putting it out, "D.O!"

D.O already knew what needed to be done. The needle flew out of Lay's hand and into Chen's neck, injecting the strong sedative. Xiumin and Baekhyun caught Chen as he stumbled, "I've got you." Xiumin whispered.

"I didn't…tell…him…" Chen words faded as he lost consciousness.

"He knows." Xiumin whispered in his ears.

* * *

Suho ordered Chanyeol to take the videos off the ship's server and save them in an isolated drive. He didn't want Chen obsessing over the video and eventually driving himself into depression. They all felt it and agreed it would not be healthy for Chen to have access to the videos again, not until they were sure he could handle it.

Chen never left his room in the days after he woke from the sedatives. He didn't ask to see the videos. At night, Xiumin listened to Chen's nightmares. He called out for his father, telling him he loved him and apologising over and over again. His power would disperse through the ship, sending images to all members. The team was exhausted. They couldn't sleep and felt the guilt Chen felt like it was their own. They regulated their feelings as much as they could but it took a toll and soon enough, the younger members couldn't differentiate the feelings any more. It reached its peak when Kai and Sehun tried to leave for the closest military base in a rage. They had stormed past D.O, to the transport bay. "Kai, Sehun, where are you going?" They didn't answer. D.O tapped his comm badge, "Suho, did you send Kai and Sehun on a mission?"

" _No, why?"_

D.O followed them, "They're going to the transport bay and look really pissed."

" _Stop them. I'll be right there."_

"I'll try." D.O reached the transport bay just as Kai and Sehun were about to climb in the desert rider, "Kai, Sehun, where are you going?"

"The military needs to pay for what they did." Sehun hissed, coldly.

D.O shivered at the tone, "Pay for what?"

"What they did to me." Kai told him, as if he should've known.

D.O frowned, "What did they do to you?"

"They kept my fath…" Kai frowned, confused at what he was saying, "No…what they did to Chen..." He nodded, now that he sorted it out in his head, "They need pay for what they did to Chen."

Suho rushed in, "Stand down, boys!" He ordered.

"No…" Sehun tried to get in the car but D.O slammed it shut, "What are you doing?"

"Are you going against my orders?" Suho dared him.

"They played with Chen's life like they're Gods. They played with all our lives." Sehun screamed at him, "They must pay!"

Suho put his hand down, signalling for Sehun to stay calm, "The feelings you're feeling are not yours. They're Chen's, remember?"

Baekhyun and Chanyeol arrived at the door, shocked at seeing Suho talking down Kai and Sehun. D.O turned to them, "Go find Xiumin and Chen. Chen's projecting again." The older members were able to differentiate between their own feelings and Chen's. Even though Chen's pain was immense, they were able to push it aside and distract themselves. Their two youngest were not as disciplined in compartmentalising. Chanyeol stayed while Baekhyun ran to find Xiumin and Chen.

* * *

"Xiumin, where are you? Is Chen there?" Baekhyun spoke desperately into his comm.

* * *

"We're in our quarters." Xiumin was trying to wake Chen from a nightmare. "Chen! Wake up!"

Baekhyun rushed into the room, finding Xiumin shaking Chen, "What's wrong?"

Xiumin shook his head, "I don't know. He won't wake up."

"Why?" Chen tossed breathlessly, "Why?"

"He affecting Kai and Sehun. They're ready to take down a base." Baekhyun rubbed his eyes, "We shouldn't have let him see those videos. He can't handle it."

"He will." Xiumin was determined.

"He's sick, Xiumin! He has barely eaten or slept since he saw it and now Kai and Sehun are about to get themselves killed because he can't control his emotions!" Baekhyun was losing his mind. The whole team has been in a mess because of those videos. "He can't control his emotions and he's not trying to!"

Xiumin spun around, glaring at him, "Do you really think you're helping right now?" He pointed between the two of them, "We're the two people he trusts the most in this universe. He needs our help not our doubts about him."

"He's sending Kai and Sehun to their deaths!"

"He doesn't know what he's doing!"

"I'm doing what?" They spun around at the voice. Chen was sitting up, pale and clammy, "What did you say about Kai and Sehun?" His voice was weak from lack of use.

Xiumin sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."

Chen frowned at Baekhyun's stress, "Tell me what I did."

"Kai and Sehun are going to attack a military base because you've been projecting your emotions to everyone. It's been driving all of us crazy but Kai and Sehun are taking on your anger." Baekhyun pulled at his hair, "Why can't you trust us to take care of you?! I know it was hard but I thought you could handle because you had us this time! You didn't even let us try!" Baekyun wiped away his angry tears, "We're…"

"Baekhyun." Xiumin could feel Chen shaking from what he'd been doing to them.

"No!" Chen jolted at Baekhyun's anger, "Stop protecting him. He wanted us to treat him like an adult, then he also needs to take responsibility like an adult. Kai and Sehun are going to get themselves killed!"

Chen shook his head, shaking, "No…no…" He couldn't lose his brothers. Chen stumbled out of the room, bolting towards the transport bay, "Kai! Sehun!" He tried to sever the link he had to them but he couldn't concentrate on the wave. "Kai! Sehun!" His eyes widened in horror when the desert-rider flew out of the bay. "NO!"

"It's too late." Chanyeol rushed to get onto his hover-bike, "I'll catch them."

"I can stop them." Chen could still see the desert rider. It was almost out of sight. He needed to be quick. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

The team held their breaths, waiting. Chanyeol shook his head, "I'm going."

"Wait for me." Baekhyun took the steps two at a time. Chanyeol had started the engine when D.O called out.

"Wait!" D.O squinted his eyes, "They're coming back."

Suho let out a breath of relief, "You're right."

Chen held onto the rails so tight, his knuckles were white. His vision blurred as the rider glided into the bay and stopped. He felt weak but he had one more thing to do because he passed out.

They all felt it…or didn't feel it. Chen's emotions were gone. It was like a breath of fresh air. Kai climbed out of the rider, confused, "I was about to do something really stupid."

Sehun nodded, "Me too. I know exactly why I was doing it and I wanted to but now, it feels so irrational." He looked up at his leader and then at Chen. "Chen!" He called out in a panic when Chen collapsed into a heap.

Kai rushed up the steps and immediate grabbed Lay, teleporting him and Chen to the medical bay.

Chanyeol slapped Sehun over the head, "Can't you tell the difference between yours and Chen's feelings?"

Sehun rubbed his head, pouting, "It's not easy. It felt like it happened to me. I can't feel him anymore. Is it because he's unconscious?"

Xiumin shook his head, "It's because he severed the link to all of us before he passed out." He turned to Baekhyun, "He heard you."

Baekhyun glared at him, "Don't put this on me. You know I'm right. He should've let us help him."

"I'm not blaming you. I'm worried about him. I'm allowed to do that still, aren't I?" Xiumin growled at him, "Or am I not allowed to protect him anymore?" He left the room for the medical bay.

Baekhyun closed his eyes, remembering what he said to Xiumin. He didn't mean to imply that this was partly Xiumin's fault. "What was that about?" Chanyeol asked his best friend.

Baekhyun shook his head, "Just something I said."

* * *

Xiumin was surprised that Chen was already awake and talking to Kai. "Stop apologising, Chen. We're fine. You got us back in time. Although, it was a little scary letting the rider drive us back on its own."

"How are you okay already?" Xiumin laid a hand on Chen's forehead. He was still cold to the touch and a little too pale, but otherwise, he seemed fine.

Chen shrugged, "Lay healed me."

Lay smiled, "I don't know why, but Chen's powers didn't disrupt mine this time."

Xiumin worried at what that might mean, "Do you still have them?"

The room was quiet. Chen slowly pushed himself up. He just thought he was no longer resisting Lay because he was trusting them more and more. He opened his palm and tried to generate an electricity ball.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Nothing.

"My powers are gone." Chen gasped, "I can't feel it."

"How is that possible?" Kai turned to Lay, "I've never heard of anyone losing their powers."

Lay pushed Chen back, "Lie down." He attached nodes to his temples, "Relax." Xiumin picked up Chen's hand as Lay studied the image of Chen's brain. "I think you have a weird case of amnesia. Your brain's forgotten how to use your powers."

Chen sat up again, "What? How? I remember having powers, how can I forget how to use it?"

"I think you severed more than the link to us, you severed to link to the sensory memory that helps you use your powers." Lay scratched his head, "I swear, Chen. You are like a medical enigma for me. I thought I had a breakthrough when I healed you but it's you."

"Lay." Xiumin admonished, seeing how concerned Chen was.

"Sorry, it just frustrates me that I can't help you the way I can the others." Lay sighed, "Look, I think it's temporary. Your powers are very reactive. Something will trigger that memory again and all your powers will return."

Xiumin smiled encouragingly, "For now, enjoy not having powers. I know there were days when you wished you didn't have powers." Chen blinked at him, "Just enjoy being a civilian for a while."

Chen sighed and nodded, "I did wish I didn't have powers when I was a kid. When can I leave here?"

Lay smiled, "Rest here for another hour and then you can go back to your room."

Kai squeezed Chen's shoulder, "You'll be fine. Sehun and I have heaps of games we can play that doesn't allow us to use our powers. We learned it from a planet called Earth. There's basketball, soccer…"

"That's my favourite." Xiumin added.

"Baseball, skateboarding…but we need to get the replicator to make one for you."

Chen smiled as Kai rattled off the Earth sports, "Thanks, Kai."

"Sehun and I can teach you the rules…"

"Kai," Lay called softly, "Let him sleep. You'll have plenty of time to show him how to play."

Kai looked down and saw how tired Chen looked, "Of course. You rest. I'll be back."

Chen nodded, "Okay." He turned onto his side, facing away from everyone. His hand wrapped around the crystal. He wanted to look, to see how angry everyone was at him but he didn't dare to. He sighed, maybe Chanyeol was right; having the teams' auras wasn't good for him. He felt Xiumin pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.

"Don't think about it, Chennie Chennie. Go to sleep. I'm staying here." Chen smiled. He knew that even if everyone on this planet turn their backs on him, Xiumin never will.

* * *

Chen took off his crystal as soon as he was in his room, putting it in the draw of his bedside table. He wanted to remove the temptation of looking at it, but as soon as the draw closed, the warmth it generated was gone and Chen felt lonely. He didn't let himself think about his father's videos anymore. It's caused enough trouble for his brothers already. Baekhyun was right, he should've leaned on them. However, how could they help him? They couldn't bring his father back so that he could tell him how proud he was of him. Xiumin kept telling him his father knew how much he loved him but how can that be true when he hated him for more than half his life? How…

"I thought I told you to stop thinking about it." Xiumin smiled as he sat on the end of Chen's bed. He frowned at Chen's chest, "Where's the crystal?"

Chen sat up and shrugged, "I put it away."

Xiumin chuckled, "That pendant can be a little heavy sometimes, huh?" Chen nodded. "Are you going to avoid it from now on because it changes colours like a kaleidoscope?"

Chen shook his head, "Just until I figure some things out." He looked at Xiumin sadly, "I'm sorry I've been such a mess. I couldn't stop projecting my feelings. It felt like I was suffocating so I tried to let it go. I didn't want to affect everyone else."

"Chen, you have a power that we don't understand. It's not fair for us to judge you when we don't know how it feels. No one is mad at you. We're just worried."

"I've changed your lives since I arrived. Aren't you angry?" Chen hugged his knees to his chest.

Xiumin smiled and shook his head, "If it wasn't for you, we'd still be living a lie. The military isn't what we thought it was. You showed us its true face and you saved our lives. You may think your powers are a nuisance and I admit, I don't understand it in the least but it has protected you for years. For all we know, your powers went dormant because it's protecting you and us again."

Chen smirked, "You talk like my powers are alive."

"Lay seems to think so." Xiumin grinned, "Lets talk about something else. Tell me the truth. Are you okay with what you know about your father?"

Chen sighed and shrugged, "At least I know he loved me."

"But you still think he died thinking you didn't love him." Xiumin always knew what Chen was thinking, "Do you think it'll do you any good to dwell on something you may never find the answer to?" Chen sighed and shook his head. Xiumin smiled, "Then why don't you let it go. You created the Saviour Day Lights in the games room for him. He and your mother saw that."

Chen eyes widened innocently, "Do you really believe that?"

"The important thing is that you believe that." Xiumin told him.

Chen nodded thoughtfully, "I've always believed my mother is watching me. That's mean my father is too."

Xiumin moved closer, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thank you, Xiumin." Chen reached over and wrapped his arms around Xiumin, "You always take care of me."

"Always remember that." Xiumin hugged him tight.

* * *

The rest of the team were sitting in the games room. They needed to decide what do now while Chen didn't have powers. Chen had been able to create a link between all the team members and maintain it, meaning the entire team was able to communicate with each. It made missions go smoothly and they were able to move as one. Chen worked hard to be able to establish the links.

"I feel weird." Sehun told them, rubbing his hands up and down his arm, as if he were cold, "I'm used to be able to feel Chen."

"Feeling Chen was what almost got you in trouble." Suho pointed out.

Sehun shook his head, "Not that. I mean the feeling of security he gives out. I've never noticed it until now. I think Chen's protective shield is always on standby. Now that he doesn't have his powers, I can't feel it at all. It's like someone pulled the blanket off me."

Kai nodded, "I feel the same. It doesn't feel right."

Baekhyun sighed, "I wanted him to sever the link. Now, it feels like he's missing."

"Yeah, it's weird. I've already gotten used to the link when we go on missions. It's going to be hard without it." Chanyeol admitted.

"Come on, boys," D.O encouraged, "We completed plenty of missions before Chen came along."

"Yeah, but never as smoothly as the last couple we've done with Chen. We can see where each other are and know what each of us are thinking. It's like we're one person split into nine." Kai agreed with Chanyeol.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice. We'll be fine without Chen for now." Suho remembered the small argument Baekhyun had with Xiumin, "You should talk to Xiumin."

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." Baekhyun tried to defend himself, "I just wished Chen would trust us more."

"What do you mean? We know he trusts us. He can't generate a shield to protect us if he doesn't trust us." Lay reminded him, "The chip would still be in his head, if he didn't trust you. Heck, you were the one who worried he trusted us too much."

"I mean, trust us to help him. He never said one word to any of us after the videos." Baekhyun told them, "We can't help him if he won't talk to us."

"Baekhyun, you're the most open and sharing person I know," Suho chuckled, "Sometimes too sharing. It's so easy for you to talk about what's bothering you but Chen never learned that skill. He's an adult and yes, we should treat him like one but at the same time, emotionally, he's still a kid. He never developed social skills to effectively interact with others."

"You felt what he felt." Chanyeol told his best friend, "Can you honestly say that you could express yourself? I've never felt so…"

"Breathless?"

"Suffocated?"

"hated?"

"guilty?"

"Alright, alright, I get it." Baekhyun hated that Chen felt so many negative emotions at once. He sighed and turned to Lay, "Will his powers return?"

Lay nodded, "I have no doubt. I've always thought this; his powers have a mind of its own."

Suho thought back to the videos they watched of Taeyang and his team. He wondered if there was something he could do while Chen recovered, "Don't you boys think it's strange that none of Taeyang's team tried to look for Chen after he passed away. They were Chen's godfathers."

"I wondered about that as well. I think the military is behind it. There is no way his team would leave Chen on his own." Lay could see how close the team was. It was just like theirs.

"Come to think of it, I've never heard any stories about Taeyang's team after he died. A team as famous as theirs doesn't just drop off the planet without a trace unless…" A smile tugged at the corner of Chanyeol's mouth, "They're like us."

Baekhyun was following, "We're a lot like them, which mean, they can't be found because they don't want to be."

"Which makes it hard for us to find them?" D.O pointed out.

"For everyone else, but not us. We know how to hide which means, we know how to seek." Suho told them smugly, "You boys know what you need to do."

The team nodded, energised by this new mission to find Captain Minho and his team. "I can't wait to meet them." Baekhyun looked almost giddy, "I've idolised Taeyang and his team for so long."

"I'm surprised you didn't look for them earlier…" D.O narrowed his eyes, suspicious, "You tried, didn't you?"

Baekhyun jumped up, excited, "I still have my notes. I'll get them and show you where I lost track of them."

"He has notes." Suho said, dumbfounded.

"He had a map and tracked them all over the planet and then he hit a dead end." Chanyeol told them, "It was a big map."

* * *

The team stood around the dining room table, speechless. Chanyeol didn't exaggerate. The map spanned the entire table and the notes he had, written in an 8-year-old's writing, were filed neatly in a box. "So, when you boasted that you were a child genius…" Suho asked slowly.

"Sadly, it's true." Chanyeol shook his head, as he was reminded of his friend's obsession.

"Alright, let's get started." Suho ordered, "Chanyeol, get the ship's computer to scan the map and look for any patterns. D.O, Kai and Sehun, start going through his notes. Keep only essential clues. Baekhyun, you already know what notes you have, start looking for any new clues on the military net. I'm sure any sightings or clue of the team will be kept in their records."

"Lay, why don't you go and check on Chen and let Xiumin know what we're doing. Don't let Chen know. I don't want to get his hopes up or stress him out anymore than he already is."

"Yes, Sir." Lay nodded, "I can also check medical records over the years. I may find something there."

Suho nodded, smiling, "Good thinking." He looked around, feeling a little overwhelmed. This will probably be the most challenging mission they've taken on.

* * *

Lay rang the doorbell to Xiumin and Chen's quarters. The door hissed open, revealing Xiumin, who immediately shushed Lay, pointing to Chen who was sleeping soundly. Lay smiled affectionately, "He looks peaceful."

Xiumin nodded and stepped out, letting the door close behind him, "Were you just checking on him?"

"That and letting you know about our current mission."

Xiumin frowned, "Chen can't…"

Lay stopped him, "It's more a reconnaissance mission. We're trying to find Taeyang's teammates."

"Ah…" Xiumin nodded, "Yeah, I've been thinking about them as well. It doesn't make sense that they didn't try to find Chen after his father died."

"That's what we're all thinking. Apparently, Baekhyun has been tracking them since he died as well." Lay chuckled at Xiumin's expression, "Wait until you see what he has. I'm never rolling my eyes again when he says he's a genius."

"I don't think we should tell Chen though."

"Suho said the same thing. He doesn't want anymore emotional shock for him. There's only so much someone can take." Lay always worried about Chen. No one has ever stressed him out more than Chen.

* * *

Chen laid on the ground, huffing and grinning. Xiumin, Kai and Sehun had a game of two-on-two basketball with him. Chen could tell Xiumin really enjoyed the game and he was really good at it. Chen pretty much stayed out of his way. "We should find a place outside and have a game of soccer." Xiumin puffed, "It's even better."

Chen grinned, "How about skateboarding? Kai showed me a video. It's looks fun!"

"You can practice that around the ship." Kai told him, "You need good balance."

"Yeah, I'll practice with you." Sehun said, eagerly. Chen turned onto his stomach and nodded, enthusiastically at him.

"What do you want to play next? Baseball needs a field as well."

"I know a game!" Sehun got up and grabbed a stool on wheels, then called to the ship's computer. "Create a two-metre diameter target on the floor."

Kai jumped up, excited, "I love this game." He grabbed a stool. "We push ourselves towards the target. Once we past this line, we can't use our legs anymore. Closest to the centre of the target wins."

"Yep, you can aim to push someone out of the target as well."

Chen grabbed a chair, "Let me try once first!" He pushed himself and ended up overshooting the target by metres." Chen frowned, "This is harder than it looks." The boys laughed at him.

"Alright, let's start!"

* * *

The boys were exhausted by the time they finished a fourth round of live shuffleboard. It was fun but Chen was missing the others. More specifically, he missed Baekhyun. He'd seen the others around and spoke to them but somehow, he would always just miss Baekhyun. He sighed, he enjoyed hanging with Xiumin, Kai and Sehun but it almost seemed as if they were trying to keep him distracted from something. "Guys, is there something you're not telling me?" He asked as they rested on top of the target.

Xiumin frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen Baekhyun in days. Is he okay? Is he sick? You can tell me. I'm not fragile. I'm not going to go crazy like before." Chen begged them to tell him.

"Ah…" Xiumin smiled, amused, "You're overthinking things, Chen. Suho has been keeping him busy with some recon and he's helping D.O with maintaining the ships engine." Chen looked unsure.

"If something happened to Baekhyun, we would never keep that from you." Kai reassured him, "He really is just busy."

"Why don't I see you with your crystal anymore? Are you angry at Baekhyun?" Sehun asked.

"NO! Of course not. I just…"

"You're worried that the crystal will show that Baekhyun is angry." Xiumin guessed and sighed, "How many times do we have to tell you that, even if we are angry, it's not at you."

Chen shook his head, "He was angry at me. I didn't need to crystal to tell me that."

"Aye, Chen. We're a family. Remember that. Families don't stay angry with each other for long." Xiumin threw his arm around Chen, "Relax before your powers return and we go on missions again."

"Thanks for keeping me company, guys. It keeps my mind off things."

"That's what we're here for." Kai grinned.

* * *

Baekhyun studied the amount of security breaches over the past decades. The year following Taeyang's death, the amount of breaches increased ten-folds. Nothing went missing during the breaches but each time, it seemed like the intruders were only looking for information. The intrusion went of for two years before they stopped. The timing could be coincidental but Baekhyun doubted it. He was sure it was Captain Minho and his team. Baekhyun sighed and scrubbed his head in frustration. What if it was? It told him nothing about where they were now. "Aye!" Baekhyun cursed when a pillow was thrown at him, "A-ss…"

"Turn out the lights!" Chanyeol growled at him from the top bunk before rolling over and going back to sleep. Baekhyun threw the pillow back at Chanyeol and turned out the lights. He quietly left the room to get something to snack on. He couldn't sleep anyway.

* * *

Chen couldn't sleep. He was physically tired from the day's activities but his mind wouldn't shut down. He couldn't stop thinking about Baekhyun. Chen wished he was braver and just talk to him but Baekhyun sounded so angry that day. He did almost get Kai and Sehun killed after all. Chen sat up and huffed, shoving off his covers. He quietly left the room for a midnight snack.

* * *

Chen was glaring at the replicator when Baekhyun walked in. He was shocked and was about to leave when he saw how cute Chen looked glaring at the machine with his arms folded. He grinned, missing the Scorpion. His eyes widened n shock when Chen smacked his head, "Why won't you work?!"

"Hey! Stop hitting my friend!" Baekhyun yelled at Chen, making him jump a metre away from the replicator. He grinned at Chen's flustered expression.

Chen frowned at him, "I didn't hit the machine!" He argued.

Baekhyun burst out laughing, "I meant you, you idiot!" He shook his head as he walked up to Chen and rubbed the side of his head, Chen had smacked himself on. "What were you trying to do?"

Chen's eyes watered as Baekhyun rubbed his sore head, "I thought you were angry with me." He sniffed and then shoved Baekhyun, "Where were you? I was waiting for you!"

Baekhyun was surprised at the shoved, "Hey. You could've come to me, you know." He said, gently as he hesitantly reached over to wipe away Chen's tears.

Chen smacked his hand away, "I thought you were angry at me. I didn't want to get yelled at again!"

Baekhyun sighed. The others were right. Chen was a powerful elemental and a soldier but he was still a kid when it came to his social and emotional development. He should've been the adult. "If you didn't take off the crystal, you would've known I wasn't angry." Baekhyun spoke gently.

Chen lowered his head, ashamed, "I was too scared." He said, so quietly that Baekhyun almost missed it.

Baekhyun smiled sadly and stepped up to him, pulling Chen into his arms, " You're right. I should've come to you. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was really scared. I didn't mean what I said. I know you trust us with your life. You were never allowed to express yourself. You didn't know how to talk to us. I'm sorry." He smiled when he felt Chen's arms tighten around him as he cried into his shoulder. He sighed, "Come on. Sit down and tell me why you were hitting yourself."

Chen pouted, rubbing his head, "I want my powers back. I spent years wishing I didn't have the power but it's gone now and I don't like it!"

Baekhyun frowned, amused and confused, "Xiumin hyung told me you were taking this well. Kai and Sehun told me you were having a lot fun playing all the Earth games."

Chen nodded, "I do when we're playing but at night…"

"Nothing to distract you." Baekhyun said, understanding, "You should've talked to Xiumin." Chen shook his head, pouting. "You don't want to worry him." Baekhyun guessed. Chen nodded again. Baekhyun sat back and relaxed, spreading his arms outs, "Okay then. I give you permission to worry me. Tell me everything that scares and worries you." Chen shook his head. "Come on! I bet you're scared of bugs." Chen blinked at him, confused, "Ghosts? Heights? Razenberries!" Baekhyun grinned when Chen burst out laughing.

"Who's scared of razenberries?"

Baekhyun shrugged, then spoke seriously, "Tell me what's worrying you."

Chen let out a long breath, "I'm scared my powers don't return. I like connecting us. I feel lonely without it. And it's my…" He wiped away the tear that suddenly dropped, "It's my only…"

"Link to your dad? Without it, you feel like you've lost him?" Baekhyun knew he was right.

"It's what he left me." Chen sniffed.

Baekhyun leaned forward and took his hand and then placed his other one against Chen's chest, "Taeyang is right here. Your powers are a part of your DNA. You can't lose it. You can't lose your dad."

Chen looked down at the hand on his chest and smiled, "That's where mum is."

"That's right."

Chen frowned again, "But I need my powers back. How can I protect everyone if I don't have it?"

Baekhyun was starting to think Chen was finding things to worry about, "You know we're all adults, right? And in some ways, older than you. It's not your responsibility to protect us. We take care of each other. How do you think we survived all those years before you came along?"

"Luck?" Chen answered, without even thinking. Baekhyun paused, shocked at the response before he played clipped Chen over the head, making him chuckle.

"Smarty pants." Chen relaxed a little, feeling better now that he could talk to Baekhyun again, "I expect to see you wearing the crystal. I made it especially for you."

Chen nodded, "I promise I won't take it off again."

"I'll hold you to that promise." Baekhyun said sternly, "So what games are Kai and Sehun teaching you."

"Basketball and Live shuffleboard. Tomorrow, they're going to teach me how to skateboard." Chen grinned. "I like these games. Mum used to teach me games like these. We weren't well off, so she thought of ways to keep me entertained. There was a game she taught me so I could play with my school friends. It was called Sun, Moon and Star." Chen chuckled, "It's named after us."

Baekhyun smiled, "How do you play it?"

"We sit in a circle. One person starts and points to someone else and say, 'Sun', sun then points to another person and says 'moon', moon points to a person and says 'Star', the star doesn't say anything but the two people sitting next to him pretend to stretch like they just woke up with the Morning Star. You have to respond quickly. If you're wrong, then you get punished." Chen giggled like a little boy, "I was good at it."

"We should all play it together."

Chen nodded vigorously, "Mum said dad taught her the game. She played it once with his team when she was pregnant with me. They changed the name for her."

Baekhyun's eyes widened, "The team came up with the name?"

"Yep!" Chen said proudly, then his eyes saddened, "But I guess I forgot about it until now."

"Sun, Moon and Star…" Was it a new clue? Baekhyun turned and called out to the computer, "Bring up searches that match Sun, Moon and Star."

Chen frowned, "Why are you searching that? It's a game that only I know…" The computer came up with a game of the same name, "There's a game on the net?"

Baekhyun didn't respond. He scrolled through the holographic screen in front of him. He read through the instructions. It sounded oddly like what Chen had just described to him, but how did you play on a…Baekhyun tapped on the link and immediately a group of holographic players appeared around him. "Whoa!"

Chen didn't think his eyes could get any wider, "It's a game on the net! I thought my dad and his team made it up!"

Baekhyun scrolled through the screen, "Well, it's not very popular. It barely has any hits."

"That's because it's not meant for a computer! It's not fun when you can't punish the other players!" Chen huffed, "Who put it up there? They ruined it!"

Baekhyun grinned at how defensive Chen was of the game, "Let me try it out anyway." He pressed enter and almost immediately was out. Chen burst out laughing. "Hey, I need to warm up!" Baekhyun went another ten rounds, "No wonder why no one is playing it. It's too hard."

Chen shoved Baekhyun out of the chair, "You're just hopeless. I'll show you how it's done." He sat down and stretched before starting a new game. In five minutes, Chen passed the first stage. "Ha! See? You're just slow."

Baekhyun chuckled, "Keep on going. Let's see how far you can get." He watched Chen play, who was oblivious to the fact that Baekhyun was studying everything in the game. Chen didn't make the connection but he did. There were so many clues on the characters in the game. Each character was represented by a symbol. Those symbols reflected the powers of each of them, which meant, it reflected Captain Minho's team. There were eight of them, the one missing was the Scorpion. Baekhyun knew this game was created by Minho's team. It was created for one reason, to find Chen because only Chen knew the game well enough to get through each stage.

Baekhyun couldn't help laughing at how much fun Chen was having with the holograms. He sat back and watched Chen pass each stage until he reached level 20, then everything changed. A new screen appeared with lock and a message; _if you want to proceed, key in the passcode._ Chen frowned, "What code?" He turned to Baekhyun, "Did I get a code before?" Baekhyun shook his head. "Then why are they asking me for a code?!"

Baekhyun got up and moved Chen from the seat, sitting down, "The code has two words; 7 letters and 4 letters."

"It could be anything." Chen complained, not happy, "Stupid game."

"It could be anything but it's not. It's you." Baekhyun typed in the words; _morning star._

Chen frowned, "Why would it be…" The screen changed; _Congratulations. Please come to the following address to complete the punishment of the other players._ "Mwo? I get to punish the other players?" Chen shook his head, "He must be crazy if he thinks I'm going there to punish people I don't know."

Baekhyun let out a relieved chuckle, "I don't think they're people you don't know. Let's all go there when the others wake up. It's almost morning."

"Why?" Chen thought Baekhyun was crazy. Baekhyun didn't understand how Chen hasn't made the connection yet.

"Just trust me. It's important."

"It's a game!"

Baekhyun was getting a little annoyed now. "Just go! Aren't you curious? It's a game that's based on the game your father and his team made up."

"So?" Chen protested quietly as he drew back, scared of what this all meant. Baekhyun could see he was starting to understand.

Baekhyun pulled him into his arms, "We'll all be right beside you. I promise."

* * *

Chen and the team stood outside a door in an alleyway. Above the door was a picture. It was one of those pictures that depended on what the viewer saw. Most people would see a forest but Chen saw the sun, moon and stars. "Whoever made that game, made sure Chen was the only person who could get to this point. Even the picture is for Chen." Xiumin noted.

Chen turned to him, "You see it too?" Xiumin smiled and nodded. "So, do I just knock?"

"I guess so…" The team immediately went on defense when the door opened automatically. Baekhyun looked in, "It's a lift."

"Very observant of you." Chanyeol said, earning himself a smack.

"Fearless leader, what do you think?"

Suho studied the lift, "We came all this way. This would be too eerie if it didn't have anything to do with Captain Minho and his team."

"Which should mean, we're not in danger." D.O added, "Right?"

"Let's find out."

"I'll go first." Chen grabbed Xiumin's arm, scared and worried for his safety. Xiumin smiled at him, telling him he'll be okay. "Come on." He stayed in front of Chen as they all entered the lift.

Kai frowned when the lift started moving, "Are we going down?"

Lay nodded, "Very observant."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry. Is it 'Sarcastic Day'? I didn't get the memo." Chanyeol chuckled at his best friend.

"Relax, Baekhyun. You're usually the one cracking these jokes." Suho wondered about the Luminant, "You look as nervous as Chen."

"Are you kidding me? I idolised this team." Baekyun pulled at his collar, "We're about to meet military legends."

* * *

As soon as the doors opened, a psychic blast shot towards them. Chen's mental shield shot out reflexively, protecting the entire team. The team felt the two psychic blasts collide and they immediately fell into offensive and defensive positions. "Legends are trying to kill us." Chanyeol told his best friend, deadpanned. They stepped out into the large room. It was dark. The lights came on. They were standing in, what looked like, a high-tech headquarter.

"I wouldn't say I tried to kill you." The team's weapons aimed up at the voice on the second level landing. Eight men and one woman stood there but they weren't worried that weapons were pointed at them. The woman was the one who spoke, "I was only going to knock you unconscious."

"It was a test. Only one person I know of, could've blocked, Siro's attack." The man next to her spoke. His eyes were on Chen. All of their eyes were on Chen. Chen looked up at the eight men. They were blurry. His hand went to his head when it started spinning.

"Xiumin…I don't feel…" Xiumin grabbed him by the shoulders, steadying him. Chen leaned forward, resting forehead on Xiumin's shoulder, "I feel sick."

Lay placed a soft hand against Chen's back, sending energy to sooth the nausea, "He's fine." He told the others, "The sudden return of his powers took a bit of a toll."

Suho lowered his weapon and signalled for the others to do the same, knowing they weren't in danger, "Do you think we can do this more comfortably?" He gestured to Chen who was shaking, "Chen needs a seat."

"Of course." Minho saw how pale Chen was, "There's a couple of couches in the corner of the room."

Siro turned to him, "I think I've repaid my debt to you." She kissed him on the cheek, "Enjoy your reunion." She said before leaving.

* * *

Xiumin saw the large games room with the couch, "Come on." He gently led Chen to the room and sat him down, "Are you okay?" He asked, ignoring everyone else in the room, as he wiped at Chen's brow."

Chen shook his head, "It's them." He whispered.

Xiumin smiled, sympathetically. Chen must be feeling a mixture of emotions and he doesn't know how to handle it, "It is and you don't need to be scared. They're your family." He wrapped his arms around him, turning to face the others.

The two teams made themselves comfortable round the room. They were older but Chen recognised each of them from the video. Tears came to his eyes at the next words, "We've been looking all over the planet for you, Chen." Captain Minho told him.

"You look so much like him." Another man spoke. It was Ray. Their youngest.

"We're so sorry, Chen. We tried but there was no trace of you." Sunghyeon, their healer.

"But you found our game." J.D grinned through his tears, "Taeyang told us that you would know it."

Baekhyun was staring at them all with his mouth open. Chanyeol tapped his chin, "You're embarrassing yourself."

Baekhyun closed his mouth, wiping it to ensure he wasn't drooling, "I'm sorry, but I've followed Taeyang and his team since you all saved me and my family."

"We saved you?"

Baekhyun nodded, "Do you remember the street a local gang held up? It was the entire street in 2103."

"I think I remember that one. It was a year or so later that Taeyang died." Don remembered sadly.

"How did he die?" Chen's voice was soft but they all heard him. Lay sat on the other side of Chen, sending calming energy into him, helping him relax. "How did my father die?" Chen asked again, louder this time.

Captain Minho closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he remembered that day, "We came up against a very powerful psy. He almost killed us all with his psychic attack. It felt like our brains were on fire. Taeyang did the only thing he could think of. He used all of his energy to throw up his shield one last time but only to protect us. He kept the psychic link between himself and the psy, then sent an electrical blast through it. It killed them both." He couldn't stop staring at Chen. "Seeing you is like he's with us again."

"Did he die thinking I hated him?" Chen couldn't stop the hitch in his voice.

"Aw…Chen," Minho shook his head, "He knew how much you loved him."

Chen shook his head, denying it, "How? I didn't even know until now."

Minho smiled, "You have the same ability he did. You didn't know it at the time but at the funeral, you were projecting all of your feelings at once. Taeyang felt how much you wanted to hug him and never let him go but at the same time, you were so angry, you couldn't let yourself do it. You felt like you were betraying your mother if you did. He felt your love, your anger and your grief but never did he feel hatred."

Minseok hugged Chen as he broke down at Minho's words, "Your father knew. He knew all along." He knew that Chen would be fine as soon as the tears stopped, "Thank you, Captain. That was exactly what Chen needed to hear."

Chen calmed down with Lay's help and turned to his father's team. He stood shakily and bowed to them, "Thank you for being my father's family."

"I don't know if you know this," Jason spoke, "But we're your Godfathers." Chen nodded as he sat back down, "We couldn't find you."

Suho realised something, "You couldn't find him because the military kept you with a drunk civilian. My guess is that guy had no record. They knew you would all be looking for him and the best way to hide Chen was to keep him with someone who didn't exist."

Minho nodded. It made sense, "We spent all our resources searching for you for two straight years but we found nothing."

"That's why we established this place. We hoped you would find us instead." Ray wiped away his tears, "You found us."

The Captain looked around the room. It didn't go unnoticed at how protective the team were of Chen, "But you're okay, aren't you? Even if you didn't find us, you found a family of your own."

Chen nodded.

"Chen hasn't been with us for long but it feels like he's been with us forever. He's our brother." Suho smiled at Chen, chuckling when Chen ducked his head, shyly.

Hyun turned to Lay, "I'm guessing you're their healer?" Lay nodded, "What did you mean by Chen's powers returning?"

"That's right!" Kai exclaimed, excited, "We told you it would return."

"There was an…accident," Lay tried to explain, "He couldn't access his powers. It's been over a week now."

Sunghyeon nodded, knowingly, "Your brain just needed a jump-start. It's happened to Taeyang as well, not long after your mother died. He was mourning and lost control of his powers. He gave himself a psychic shock to protect us from his emotional outbreaks, but temporarily lost his powers instead."

"Wow! Like father, like son." Chanyeol grinned at Chen, "He's in you." Chen smiled proudly at that. It was the first time he felt pride when someone said that.

"What happened to you after the funeral, Chen?" And so, the exchanges of stories between two generations began. There were tears and laughter.

* * *

Suho and the team spent two days in this secret underground base, so that Chen could learn more about his father but the reunion could only last so long. Minho's team packed their bags. Chen was confused, why were their bags packed? This was their home. "We built this place to find you and for you, Chen. Taeyang had an account that he would deposit half his pay into, the other half went to your mother. I withdrew the credits and invested it. It all went into this." Minho told them. Chen was speechless, "We have homes to return to. They've missed us for too long."

"You've stayed away from your families for…"

"No, no…it's nothing like that." Minho stopped Chen before he could think they sacrificed their lives for him, "Taeyang would never want us to do that for him. We've returned home, days at a time, the same way we would if we were still with the military. But we had to be careful because the military kept tabs on our families. It was hard but they understood. Our families all agreed that finding Taeyang's son was the best way of repaying his sacrifice. Now, we can return home to our families for good."

"This place is…"

"Yours, Chen."

Baekhyun looked around the underground lair, "Wow! I really feel like a spy now!" He turned to his idols, "Wait! Before you leave, we need to take a group photo." There were collective sighs but nobody disagreed. They took a lot of photos but the most epic one of all was the recreation of Taeyang's team photo from the day Chen was born but in Taeyang's place was Chen.

* * *

Before he left, Minho pulled Chen aside and handed him a disc, "Your father left this for you. Your powers activate it."

Chen looked at the disc in his hand, "What is it?"

"A message." Minho pulled Chen into his arms, "I've missed your father so much. He was a true brother. Finding you, has made losing him, hurt less." He pulled back and held out Chen's hand, "This is your fathers last words to you but I've added my own little something." He turned the disc over, revealing a discreet button, "Any time you need me, press this button. No matter where I am, I will find you."

Chen wiped at his tears, "Thank you, daebu."

Minho hugged him fiercely, "I've found him, Taeyang," He sobbed, "Did you hear him? I've waited 17 years to hear him call me that."

"Daebu." Chen said again, "I love you." He felt the love of father's embrace for the first time in his life.

"We will see each other again." Minho promised.

* * *

Chen sat in the games room with the disc in his hand. Minseok and Baekhyun watched him from the comms area. Suho saw how much they wanted to be over there with Chen but they weren't sure if this was something they should be a part of. The last message from Chen's father should be private but Suho knew better. It's why he was the leader. He walked over to them and nudged his head at Chen, "Go and be with him. He needs support." Xiumin and Baekhyun looked unsure.

"Go, Baekhyun." Chanyeol gave his friend a gentle push towards Chen, "He needs you."

Suho nodded to Xiumin, "He won't activate the message without you. Go."

Xiumin nodded and headed over, pulling Baekhyun with him.

"Hey." Xiumin sat next to Chen while Baekhyun sat on the couch, perpendicular to theirs, "Are you going to listen to it?"

Chen nodded, "I was waiting for you." He smiled at them.

Baekhyun chuckled, "We'll never hear the end of it from Suho."

"Go on." Xiumin encouraged.

Chen put the disc on the table and sent a message to it through the electrical waves. A hologram appeared. It was Chen's father, "Dad." Chen gave a sad smile.

"Chen, my Morning Star. My brothers found you. I knew they would. They've never let me down. I left this with them because after feeling how angry you were at your mum's funeral, I knew that the military never delivered my video messages to you." Chen's tears started again. His father did understand. "I want you to know that I love you and I know you love me too. The amount of anger in you that day, reflected how much you loved me. I could feel it." Taeyang pointed at Chen, "You're a good boy with a good heart and you are more than I've ever hoped for in a son. I only have one advice for you, son; don't let anything darken your heart. Trusting people is a hard thing to do, but you only need to find one person that you can trust unconditionally, and you will have a family. I'm lucky, I found eight men and your mother. I wish the same for you. I love you, Chen. I always will. Your mother and I are united again and we are both watching over you. We cannot be any prouder." The hologram turned off. Chen picked it up and held it to his chest, then leaned into Xiumin.

"My father must've been watching over me because I did find eight brothers, just like he did." Chen smiled at Baekhyun, through his tears, "I found my family."

* * *

The team explored their new headquarters, "Did you guys know, that there is another level below this. And get this, it's a hangar!" Sehun and Kai had found it. "The entrance to it is under water."

"Is there a ship down there?" Suho asked, ready to run down there himself to take a look.

They shook their heads, " But there are two military grade fighters and more than enough room for Serenity."

"How rich are my godfathers?" Chen was in awe of the place.

"We've hit the jackpot." Xiumin agreed, "Now, how about some lunch before we keep exploring."

D.O walked in with two platters, "I found the kitchen."

Chen grinned, "You're the best!" He took a platter off D.O and kissed him on the cheek, giggling at D.O's astounded expression.

Xiumin laughed as he took the other platter off the shocked D.O, "He's learning to express himself. I might get Baekhyun and Chanyeol to lay off the romantic movies."

"Please do." D.O wiped at his cheek, shaking his head.

* * *

Chen and Suho dragged Sehun to the middle of the circle, laughing as they smacked him. They were playing 'Sun, Moon and Star'. Chen sat between Suho and Sehun. Suho caught onto the game faster than the younger member. Chen was really good at the game. Every now and then he would point at himself for the star, confusing Suho and Sehun. They've lost the most rounds so far.

Sehun jumped up, sulking after his punishment, "I want to swap places! Chen cheats!"

"I don't cheat!" Chen complained, "I'm just good at this!"

"Whatever! I want to trade places." Sehun insisted.

Suho put his hand up, "I'll trade places." Then cracked up laughing at Sehun's expression. "Come on, Sehun. Since when were you so slow at picking up a game!"

Chen fell back onto the floor, catching his breathing from dolling out punishment and laughing. The others followed suit, exhausted from the simple, yet addictive game. "Thanks guys." Chen turned onto his stomach and propped himself up by his forearms, "Thank you for everything." They turned around and smiled at him, "I never dreamed about having a family after mum died. I didn't think I would play this game again. I thought I would never laugh again but you gave me all of it back." He turned to Xiumin, Lay and Baekhyun, "You even took away the loneliness I felt the day mum died. You taught me how to trust. You're all miracles."

Suho sat up and placed a hand on Chen's back while looking each of his brothers in the eye, "We're a family. No matter what happens in this world, in this universe, that will never change. Thanks to you, Chen, we can do a lot for our people. Just like your father and his team did. We have the freedom to choose our missions and hit the military where it hurts the most." Chen sat up, wondering what Suho meant. Suho smiled at him, "You told us that the military kept children separated. My guess is, they are still taking children with powers from their parents. I think it's time we exposed them and free those children."

"Give them back to their families." Kai smiled, inspired.

"So that nobody suffers the way Chen did." D.O sat up and looked around determined.

"Give them hope." Sehun's eyes were bright.

"Take them away from darkness." Baekhyun nodded, determined

"Take them from the cold…" Xiumin smile at Chen.

"And give them warmth." Chanyeol created a fire ball.

"Heal them." Lay joined in.

"And protect them." Chen hugged Suho.

"That will be our lifelong mission." Suho wrapped his arms around Chen and reached over, pulling Kai over, "This will be our path. For as long as we can do this, we'll do it together.!"

This is who they are.

Soldiers.

Protectors.

Teammates.

Brothers.

Family.

One.

 **The End.**


End file.
